DreamReality
by uncle T
Summary: Naruto's depressed, when he was about to lose all hope, Jiraiya took him to Suna. However, back in Konoha, a dark secret was about to be uncovered and chaos will ensue. uh, shippuuden setting. original plot. NaruTema. humor/action. T.OOCness. R
1. Chapter 1:Sleepless Nights

_**Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto! Uncle T owns dis story! Yeaaah!**_

_**Enjoy people... **_

_**Chapter I-The Sleepless Nights**_

Two and a half years have passed. Naruto had failed to save his best friend, Uchiha Sasuke. Twice.

The first attempt resulted in many casualties and a broken promise. The second attempt caused him an even deeper sadness as he once, again couldn't keep his promise, to Haruno Sakura. Naruto became insomniac ever since. He couldn't sleep anymore. Even to close his eyes and pretend sleeping won't work.

"Another long night…" the blond genin muttered as he closed his eyes.

Thoughts started to gather in said genin's mind. Memories started to stir inside him, both good and bad memories.

"Never thought I'd experience this kind of pain… It feels somewhat like before, but… stronger…" Naruto sighed and took a sip of tea.

Every night, Naruto would not be able to sleep ever since he failed the mission. Every night, he would have flashbacks of his life. Every night, he would spend it drinking on his rooftop while reminiscing and looking toward the moon.

"Nowadays, the villagers don't really look at me with hatred anymore; instead they just ignore me… I guess I should be thankful for it… or… anyway, I almost forget… kampai, tsuki…" Naruto raised his cup of tea to the sky and then took another sip.

Every night, before he starts to have flashbacks, he would raise his cup and have a 'drink' with the moon. However, tonight will be a bit different, or so he thought.

"Hmm, putting the villagers aside… I think even those that I used to call my friends are starting to avoid me as well… or it's just my imagination I don't know… Maybe I should leave the village like Sasuke? Hell, he did get stronger… not only Sasuke, but Itachi and Orochimaru as well… But I don't know… I feel a strong connection with this village…" he stared at the moon as if he was talking to it.

"Then again, if no one really acknowledges me after all I've done… I guess it's futile to try further, no? Aah, maybe I should just be like Ero-sennin? Going around gathering information? At least that way I won't have to stay in this village but still be connected in a way… Hey, I guess that's not a bad idea…" Naruto took another sip before grinning widely at the moon.

Then a soft thud shook the blue eyed ninja out of his thoughts as he looked at the source of the sound. He didn't feel any threatening presence but a familiar one instead so he just turned his head around lazily.

"Out drinking again, Naruto?" a tall figure said behind Naruto while the blond genin just shrugged and smirked, "well you know the routine, Ero-sennin… Care to join?"

Naruto offered an empty cup at said tall Sannin which he took, sat beside Naruto and poured some tea for himself.

"So, what's on your mind tonight?" Jiraiya took a sip while the blond took his time to reply.

"Nothing much… pretty much same as usual… Ah, but I did get an interesting idea a while ago…" Naruto smiled at Jiraiya before said master asked him again, "Hoo, and what would a stupid blond genin have in mind? I bet it's something perverted, no?" a grin was formed on his face.

"Hell no! I already told you that I'm not like you!' Naruto retorted while Jiraiya just smirked, "well, as I was saying… I was thinking if I should become a Sennin…"

"Hoo, that's unexpected… never thought you would have an interest in being a Sennin, Naruto" the white haired man looked at him with a smile.

"I'm not…" Naruto replied resting his head on his hand.

"Then?" Jiraiya asked confused.

"It's just that…"

"What?"

"Well… you know I've been insomniac ever since that day", Jiraiya nodded and took a sip as he kept facing Naruto. "Well, it's not really the point now, what I mean is that… I'm starting to think about… stuffs…"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! What the hell?! I thought it was something serious but here I am, hearing you saying that you were thinking about some 'stuffs'! Hahaha, it's hilarious!"

"Uh… Ero-sennin… I'm not done yet, but are you misunderstanding what I mean by any chance?" Naruto raised an eyebrow looking slightly annoyed at Jiraiya.

"Well of course I understand what you mean, as a matter of fact, I understand perfectly well! It's not your fault Naruto… a young boy… thinking about those stuffs… It's fine! Perfectly FINE I tell you!" Jiraiya said proudly with a grin.

"Uh, I don't think it's normal to think like that, Ero-sennin… And I am sure you misunderstood…"

"What? What do you mean? Of course I am not misunderstanding anything… We're talking about those stuffs right? Like for example, how you would your first time to feel like…" Naruto let out a blush upon hearing that and yelled at Jiraiya.

"WHAT?! N-NO Y-YOU…! Baka Ero-sennin!! That's not what I'm talking about dattebayo!" Naruto could feel his cheeks becoming redder due to embarrassment.

"WH-what?! Then what were you talking about?" Jiraiya closed his ears to protect them from Naruto's loud yelling.

"W-well (cough) as I was saying… I am starting to think that… perhaps… I'm being hated once again and… uh, I wanted to leave the village as often as possible, that's why…" Naruto looked down after taking his composure back and took another sip of his cup.

"Wha-?! What do you mean, 'hated'? Of course you're not hated… what makes you think that?!" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at Naruto as he felt the seriousness in the air.

"Well for instance… I can sense the villagers ignoring my presence… everywhere I go, it seems as if… I'm invisible to them… nobody took notice of me…"

"Naruto…" the white haired Sannin looked worried.

"Not only that… I'm also starting to think that… for some reason…_they_ started to avoid me as well…" Naruto closed his eyes and took a sip of his tea.

"_They?__They _who?"

"Those people that I call _friends _all my life…" he raised his voice a little causing Jiraiya to flinch a little, "what do you mean?"

"For instance, Sakura's being the most noticeable amongst the others… she never really punches me anymore… she also talks less and less with me nowadays… and she clearly avoids my regards…"

"N-Naruto…" Jiraiya was becoming very worried.

"Then there's this bastard Sai who's not only socially-clueless, but also a dick to begin with… well, at least being a dick is still better than being distant… Then Shikamaru, Kiba, and Chouji… people that had been with me in the past, friends that have always covered my back… they definitely started to change their attitude to me… they're… _colder_…"

"Naru-…"

"Not only them, but also Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-taichou, and Iruka-sensei… They even barely speak to me now… They only speak to me when it's something important or urgent or if it concerns missions…" an angry Naruto made Jiraiya feels uneasy.

"Na-…" Jiraiya tried to calm the blond genin down but he got cut off once again.

"Then last but not least… Tsunade-baachan… I never thought she'd do something like this…" tears started to fall down as it got Jiraiya's full attention.

"Tsunade?" the white haired Sannin asked confused, "what did she do?"

"… nothing much… she just took my status of shinobi off… she scrapped me off the active shinobi list" Jiraiya was shocked.

"S-she didn't…" he could only stare at Naruto who was smiling sadly while tears kept on falling down.

"Well unfortunately she did… she told me that it's for my well-being… so I just obeyed and gave her my hitai-ate back… I guess I'm just a normal civilian now…" Naruto turned his head to face the shocked Sannin and found his mentor to stare at him in disbelief.

"N-Naruto… There… There must be a reason why Tsunade did that, yes… I don't believe Tsunade's the type that would do that with that 'it's for your well-being' pathetic excuse of a reason… Yes, listen… why don't I go and see her and ask why she did it, alright?" Jiraiya stood up and looked at his student with a worried expression. Naruto just replied with a grin.

"Ii yo, Ero-sennin… you don't have to do something troublesome like that… I'll be fine… they won't kill me anyway… also, as long as I stay quiet they'll let me do pretty much whatever I want in my house…" Naruto glanced at the moon.

"Naruto…"

"Anyway, Ero-sennin… I'll be heading off to train for a bit… Shake some things off… so… thanks for the company…" Naruto stood up and stretched his muscles. He smiled and his usual cheerful expression was back on his face.

"Well then, Ero-sennin… Ja mata ne!" Naruto flashed a grin before jumping to a nearby building.

Jiraiya was dumbfounded. But he quickly regained his composure and headed straight toward the Hokage tower, he wanted a straight answer from his fellow teammate. _"Tsunade, you better have an explanation for this…" _Jiraiya thought as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

Meanwhile in another direction, Naruto was still having his cheerful expression on while his inside was crumbling faster than a melting ice on the desert.

"_Mou… it was foolish to talk about it with Ero-sennin… I'm giving him more burden and worry than he already has…I'll have to apologize to him when morning comes…"_

After he landed on the ground, he looked around and headed toward a tall tree. He rummaged through the bushes looking for something which he found not long after.

"_Hehe, with this… I'll be alright…" _Naruto thought as he let out a small smile and chuckled. "Well then, I guess I should get starting…"

At the Hokage Tower,

BAM!

A loud bang was heard from the Hokage's office. Jiraiya just hit the table, clearly showing his anger. Tsunade just sat leaning on her chair staring at him with a hint of annoyance.

"…What is it, Jiraiya?" her voice showed her annoyance.

"…Why?" the tall Sannin asked ignoring her annoyance.

"Why what?"

"Why did you take Naruto off the force? What's the reason behind it? What's your purpose?"

"So you know…" Tsunade folded her hands together and moved toward her desk, hiding half her face behind her folded hands.

"Yes. I just had a talk with him a few minutes ago and…" Jiraiya started but Tsunade cut him off.

"THE REASON… why I did it… was because I HAD to…"

"…What do you mean?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"That kid… before he failed that mission, you remembered he had an ANBU root member with him?" Tsunade looked at Jiraiya questioningly, "… Yes"

"Well that ANBU Root member reported to Danzou everything and ever since he failed his mission but also lost control of his Kyuubi chakra, the upper ups saw that as proof that Naruto is unstable… Hence, with the majority vote between the elders, they decided to scrap Naruto off Konoha's active Shinobi list and to put that kid under ANBU surveillance 24/7, but they are still discussing on the last one though…" Tsunade glared angrily toward her desk while Jiraiya could only stare at her.

"… What?" Jiraiya sweat dropped in disbelief.

The next morning, Naruto had just finished his training and was heading out to Ichiraku Ramen as usual; however he stopped halfway as he suddenly remembered that he had to apologize to Jiraiya. He decided to skip Ichiraku for now and come back later. Ichiraku Teuchi was one of the people that doesn't ignore Naruto and was still in a friendly terms with said genin. That's something that relieved Naruto greatly as he was starting to get rejected not only by the villagers but also his fellow shinobi.

Naruto ran toward the Hokage tower hoping to see his mentor there, but he ran into Sakura instead. He was about to turn around and avoid her when the pink haired girl took notice of the blonde genin and called him.

"Uzumaki Naruto" the blue eyed shinobi stopped on his track and turned around slowly, his face starting to sweat, he didn't want to see her face to face. "…A-Ah, S-Sakura-san… O-ohayou…" he forced a smile.

For quite some time now, Naruto had always addressed Sakura with a –san and not –chan anymore. Sakura didn't take notice of it however and passed it as if nothing happened.

"You are not a shinobi anymore, so you can't strap your shuriken holster and kunai pouch. Give it to me, they're confiscated" She said, not even greeting Naruto back and raised her hand.

"Wh-what?! B-but, Sakura-san… Can't you like… I mean… I'm sorry I forgot, it's already a habit you see… and uh, can't you like… let it go for now, I swear I won't strap in anymore… pretty please?" Naruto pleaded her ex-teammate but she didn't seem to care, her green eyes didn't show any mercy.

"I'll take Naruto's shuriken holster and kunai pouch…"

The sudden voice surprised both shinobi as they turned their heads toward the source of the voice, which was none other than Jiraiya himself.

"Jiraiya-sama!" Sakura quickly bowed and greeted him, while Naruto stayed silence. "I'm sorry Jiraiya-sama. But I believe laws are laws, we can't let civilian have hold of weapons in public… even more an ex-shinobi…" her eyes looked downward while Jiraiya glanced at the blond.

"It's alright, Haruno Sakura. I'll tell Tsunade later. By the way, I think she's looking for you… you'd better go… now" Jiraiya said lying on the last part as Sakura bowed once again and ran toward her master's office.

"Ero… Sennin…" Naruto mumbled as he walked closer to his mentor.

"Naruto… pack your things, _now_. Pack everything you hold dear. I'll see you at the gate in an hour. Now go!" The toad sennin told him and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving the blond surprised, "…Eh?!"


	2. Chapter 2: To Suna!

_**A/N: aite aite, here teh second chapter of DreamReality, before i'mma let ya enjoy the story, i want teh thank y'all very muchos. to those that have written me a review, to those that have added this story in their story alert, and those that have added this story as their fav. really thanks a lot, also thanks to Mr. Lee for pointing out this story's weakness. i really appreciate the input and i'll sure be more careful next time. mm, next is... uh, what's next? O-o yeah, that's right, Mr. Lee has also pointed out the need of translating some japanese words in this fic, so yeah, from now on i'll write em down. And also i'm sorry if this chapter is shorter than the first, but don't worry, the next chapters shall be longer that this, I promise. I guess this'll be all for now, sorry to keep y'all waiting, and enjoy ppl.**_

_**Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto-sama owns Naruto, I own this mere story. Capische? **_

_**Chapter II- To Suna!**_

After Naruto finished packing his stuff, he stared at a crystal necklace on his hand. He held it tightly and smiled softly.

"I guess it's a good-bye…" he said and pulled the necklace from around his neck. "I don't deserve this necklace, Baa-chan… I'm sorry and... Sayonara…" he put the necklace on his kitchen table and head off.

On his way to the gate, a thought entered his mind, _"hmm, I wonder why Ero-sennin told me to separate my dearest things with my clothes and shinobi tools... oh well, it doesn't matter either way..."_

When he saw the main gate, he ran toward it and saw the white-haired Sennin already there waiting for him. Naruto waved at him; Jiraiya only raised a hand in reply.

"Ne, ne, ne, Ero-sennin! Where are we going?! Are we going to train again?" Naruto asked in excitement with a genuine happy expression on his face which satisfied the Sennin.

"Something like that, yeah… Come here! I hope you brought everything that you hold dear like I told you…" Jiraiya said as he turned around and walked off, Naruto trailed behind him. Jiraiya glanced over his shoulder to see Naruto following him.

"Hm? Yeah, I brought them… but, what are they for? I won't need them if we're going to train like last time right?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Yeah, of course not… However, this time is different…" Jiraiya smiled and continued, "First, this training is nothing like before. Why? Because this time you're going to undergo a Sennin training…' Jiraiya explained at Naruto, who was still confused.

"You told me that it might be a good idea to become a Sennin, so I've made some arrangements with the Tsunade to let you become my apprentice." Jiraiya smirked and continued, "Also about your dearest stuffs, yeah, we're going to burn them… here" Jiraiya stopped a few feet away from the gate, Naruto looked at him even more confused and surprised.

"B-burn them?" he asked in disbelief.

"That's right… I already taught you that a shinobi should not have desire to three most evil aspects right? Women, alcohol, and money. It's basically the same with a Sennin, but you can say it's more relaxed than that of a shinobi. Back in the days when I pursued this path, I did the same thing you are about to do. I burnt my most prized possession; Icha Icha doesn't count, because I wrote them after I became a Sennin." Jiraiya added the last part with a smirk when Naruto was about to make a remark.

"And so Naruto, do you understand why we burn them?" Naruto shook his head clearly feeling at lost and Jiraiya smiled.

"Because, it's not only a good way to purify yourself from any sort of connections, be it good or bad or both; but it's also necessary. Shinobi and Sennin aren't too different, to start your training, you must exempt yourself from any past emotions. Hence, the first step to become a Sennin is, to become an emotionless being. That's why, by burning them, you leave behind your past feelings and purify yourself. Do you understand?"

Naruto stared at Jiraiya then to the ground. He was thinking it through. When Naruto showed no sign of talking anytime soon, Jiraiya spoke again.

"Naruto, you don't have to continue if you don't want to… If you value your memories more than to forget them, there's still a turning back… being a Sennin isn't as easy as you may think, just like being Hokage…"

The word 'Hokage' rang through his head causing the blonde shinobi to snap back to reality, and then looked straight into his master's eyes. "I'll do it"

Naruto threw his bag and faced Jiraiya, "Ero-… no, Shishou… teach me the ways of a Sennin!" his eyes and voice showed conviction and determination so strong that even moved Jiraiya to sweat.

"Naruto…"

"I… I want to restart my life… my shinobi life with… _them_… is over. This time, I'll be a Sennin. I'll be able to look at Konoha from afar… I could never turn my back away from Konoha no matter what happened to me in the past or what might happen in the future… But, Konoha's my home… The villagers hate me, and even my closest friends. This leaves me with no other choice beside death, although the latter's not really a choice…"

Jiraiya looked at him with a saddened expression then sighed. Jiraiya performed a few hand seals and shouted, "_**Katon: Goukakkyu no Jutsu!**_"

A big ball of flame burst from Jiraiya's mouth and engulfed Naruto's belongings in a second, Naruto kept on looking at his burning belongings. His face was showing a hint of sadness which soon turned emotionless as the remaining of his belongings became ashes.

"Naruto… Let's go…" Jiraiya said; he put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"… Yeah" Naruto turned around and asked him, "Shishou, where are we heading?"

Jiraiya smiled at him and replied, "Sunagakure"

* * *

Meanwhile in Sunagakure, Temari was sitting on a couch inside the Kazekage's office. She was gazing dreamingly toward the window. The red-haired Kazekage didn't seem to notice as he kept on rummaging through reports and other paper works. 

"_What is wrong me these days? I haven't been myself lately and I still don't know what's been bothering me…" _the wind mistress thought then sighed and closed her eyes, catching her little brother's attention.

"Is something wrong, Temari?' he asked with his usual emotionless face, but his voice showed care and worry.

"N'n… nothing's wrong Gaara… Sorry, I must be disturbing your work… I'll go get some fresh air…" Temari replied as she stood up from the couch and headed toward the door. She stopped momentarily before turning the doorknob.

"Ne, Gaara… do you think… I…" After a short silence she continued, "… Sorry, it's nothing, just forget what I said, okay?' she gave her little brother a smile and headed out.

"…" Gaara didn't say anything but still had his attention to the closed door, _"There is definitely something wrong with her… guess I'll ask her again after I'm done with these damn paper works" _He thought and continued with his duty.

Suddenly a frog appeared out of nowhere and jumped onto Gaara's desk. Gaara, who was still indifferent looked at the frog and noticed that it has a note attached on its back. He took it off the frog and the frog disappeared. He opened the message and slightly smiled after reading the content.

"Baki!" Gaara called out loudly and Baki, the sand jonin entered.

"You called me, Kazekage-sama?" he bowed at the red-haired Kazekage before standing straight again.

"Yes, I just received a message from Jiraiya-sama saying that he is currently on his way here. Prepare a room for two, will you? Thanks" Gaara dismissed him and looked into the paper works again.

"Understood, Kazekage-sama. Shitsurei shimasu.' Baki bowed once again and headed out.

Outside, Temari was leaning on a sandy fence on top of a random building. She was still thinking about something or rather gazing dreamingly. She sighed several times before she was shaken out of her thoughts by a sand chuunin, who appeared kneeling before her.

"Forgive my sudden intrusion, Temari-sama. But Kazekage-sama demands your presence in his office now." The sand chuunin kept kneeling down when Temari stood up straight and replied, "Understood… Tell him I'll be right there…"

"HA!" and the sand chuunin quickly disappeared as fast as he appeared.

Temari sighed and looked toward the sky, "now what does he want, my cute little brother…" She formed a smile and went toward the Kazekage building.

Back inside the Kazekage office, Temari was fossilized as soon as Gaara told her the news.

"Temari… Naruto's on his way here with Jiraiya-sama… They said that they might be staying in Suna for about a month or so…"

Temari's heart suddenly beat faster and her face turned red a little after she turned back to reality. She didn't know why her heart was pounding faster than usual, she didn't understand at all. Then Gaara continued.

"That's why; I'm going to put them under your care…" Gaara crossed his arms nonchalantly as he leaned back on his soft chair.

"Wh-what?! Why?" Temari protested nervously, still having a shade of pink on her cheeks.

"Why not? Aren't you glad to see him again?" Gaara asked raising his invisible eyebrow.

"That's not what I meant…" Temari replied looking away shyly.

"Then it's settled. They're going to be put on a VIP room somewhere in this building, and to tell the truth I still can't remember some directions in this damn building. But anyway, I guess I'll leave the matter to you then…" the Kazekage said uncrossing his arms, took a few documents and began reading them one by one.

"W-W-Wa-wait! I…"' Temari tried to protest again but failed to do so because her brother only peeked at her from behind a paper, showing only his black-circled eyes and red hair. "I understand… Kazekage-sama" she said as she hung her shoulder in defeat.

"_God! __Why am I feeling nervous yet excited when I heard his name? What's wrong with me?! … Naruto…"_

* * *

Meanwhile back with Jiraiya and Naruto, "Ne! Ero-sennin!" Naruto twitched; his body trembled slightly, his face showed anger. 

"What?" the white-haired sennin lazily replied with his back facing his student.

"What the hell are you doing?!" the blond boy ranted and crossed his arms, holding his urge to smack Jiraiya in the head.

"Gathering information…" he said with a distinctive perverted voice and a perverted grin.

"… I really lost my respect to you, you perverted old geezer…" Naruto could only hang his shoulder in defeat while Jiraiya was looking through his big ass binocular giggling like a school girl.

* * *

Back in Konoha, a cloaked ANBU reported and kneeled in front of the busty Hokage. "Hokage-sama. Reporting in." 

"What is it?" she asked stiffly, she hasn't been in a good mood recently.

"The elders sent me to inform you that Uzumaki Naruto shall be put under ANBU surveillance 24/7 starting tomorrow."

"Hmph" Tsunade snickered and made the cloaked ANBU to look up, "Hokage-sama?"

"Ah, sorry but… you can tell them that there won't be any need for it. Naruto has been taken under Jiraiya's care. I think they should be outside the village by now…"

"… Understood, shitsure shimasu" He hesitated for a moment but lowered his head and vanished into thin air the next moment.

"I bet old hag Koharu's going to be so pissed she's going to send some ANBU squads to Jiraiya and Naruto… well, they'll be okay anyway…"

Just as she was about to get back to her work, somebody knocked on her door. She looked up questioningly before letting that person in.

"Enter!" Tsunade said although she didn't expect any visits for now.

"Shishou…" Sakura entered with a sad look pasted on her face.

"Sakura? What is it?"

"Shishou… I… I…" she stuttered but couldn't continue.

"Sakura, I've known you for about two and a half years now. What is it that you wanted to tell but can't?" Tsunade said with a worried look at her apprentice.

"A-actually… I… I wanted to… confess about something…" she sobbed with a guilty look on her face; tears were falling down, drenching her pale cheek.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked more softly, this time she stood up and walked closer toward her pink-haired apprentice.

"I… Naruto… I-I've been cruel to him… too cruel… I couldn't sleep at night after realizing what I've done to him… I… I'm the worst…" her tears were flowing freely, she fell down but Tsunade managed to hold her just in time.

"What do you mean, Sakura?"

"N-Naruto… he… he has experienced it before… w-when I heard his story, I couldn't believe my ears… how could Naruto had that kind of past… I never knew… but then… although I came to know his story, I-I did that unforgivable thing to him… even though I knew; I-I inflicted the same pain he experienced before! I could never forgive myself!" her sobs became cries, her tears fell even harder.

"Shht, Sakura, calm down… What did you do?" Tsunade tried to calm her pink haired apprentice although she wasn't as calm as she looked to be, her attention was fully directed to Sakura.

"Tsunade-shishou… I…" Sakura told her what happened that faithful day. The room went inaudible for awhile and then Tsunade's eyes turned wide at what had happened to her beloved blond genin. A tear fell across the blonde Hokage's face. She could only gap and let out a word in disbelief.

"… What?!"

To be continued, folks!

* * *

_**A/N: Well there you go, I hope y'all enjoyed it and yeah become more eager to read this fic. Lol. In the next chapter, Naruto and Jiraiya will arrive in Suna and there's also the appearance of Shikamaru and co. The next chapter shall be put around the first week of December I guess... As a bonus I've added another fic, check it out aite? oh right, review if y'all feel like it aite? peace out! **_

_**Translations:**_

_**-Sayonara: Farewell**_

_**-Baa-chan: Baa means granny, while -chan: is a suffix, so yeah y'all digg aite?**_

_**-Sennin: Hermit, Ero, well just leave it as pervert...**_

_**-Ne: ... uh, it's similar to hey... i guess... i kno what it means, but i'm no good when it comes to explaining and stuff**_

_**-Shinobi:... shinobi is ninja**_

_**- Shishou: Master**_

_**- Katon: Gokakkyuu no Jutsu is Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique**_

_**- Jonin: Superior ninja, Professional ninja**_

_**-Kazekage:... think of Hokage ppl... Kaze means wind, and Kage means shadow**_

_**-Shitsurei Shimasu: basically means 'if you'll excuse me'**_

_**-Chuunin: Middle Ninja**_

_**-Genin: Lower Ninja, Beginner Ninja**_

_**If y'all still dunno, just browse through wiki or something... lol**_


	3. Chapter 3: We Meet Again

_**A/N: Ahem people, if i could, i would've put this chappie up in the morning, but alas, i got sick... well in the US when i get this chapter up, it should b around noon anyway, but here in Indonesia it's midnite already... sigh, i'm tired... also i wanted to put two chapters at the same time but decided not to anyway... It's gonna be too troublesome P ahem... So yeah, thanks for your patience for a whole month, n oh yeah, altho i ain't christian and it's still faraway, but merry christmas to those who celebrate it E**_

_**Diclaimer: NARUTO equal Kishimoto Masashi, DreamReality equal Uncle T.**_

* * *

_**   
Chapter III- We Meet Again**_

Temari has been standing near the gate waiting for Suna's VIP guests, namely Jiraiya and Naruto. Her heart was beating faster by the minute but she couldn't do anything about it. She gazed below to the ground and then looked up, glancing toward the gate 's corridor.

"_Mou_… How long do they wish to make me wait?" she told herself impatiently.

"_Hmm… Why do I feel so nervous? It's not like I'm waiting for someone really special to me… I think… I mean, it's only Naruto and old leech Jiraiya… but… why do I feel like I want… to see him? Aaaah!! I don't understand!" _

A few moments later, two figures appeared on the horizon. Suna guards reported to Temari about their arrival which made the blonde kunoichi to jump slightly, her cheeks turning pink. She nodded and headed toward the gate.

"Jiraiya-sama, welcome. We've received your message and I, Sabaku no Temari is at your service." The sand kunoichi bowed politely, she tried to avoid looking at the other guest.

"Areh? Temari? Ne, Ero-sennin! What's going on here? You didn't tell me anything about this on our way here!" a retort cut through and made Temari to unwillingly look at the source of that voice, her cheeks turning a tad of pink once again.

"_Naruto…"_Temari thought silently, her face still flushed.

"I didn't? Oh well, it doesn't matter now anyway… Well then, Temari-san… We'll be under your care for this whole month." The white-haired Sannin smiled leaving Naruto stunned and Temari rather indifferent.

"Yes. Please come this way, we've prepared a room for you." Before Temari turned around she stole a glance toward Naruto for a second, but the blond genin didn't seem to notice.

"Ero-sennin…" Naruto tugged Jiraiya, his eyes showed a hint of irritation.

"What?"

"You'd better explain to me everything, and I mean EVERYTHING!"

"Yes… Yes… it's not like it matters much whether I explain or not… you still want your training, don't you? So shut up and just follow me… Geez, brats these days, no patience whatsoever…"

"Tch, fine… but I expect you to be serious about it, because I am…" Naruto said warningly.

"Fine, fine, let's just get some rest first, okay? I'm beat…"

Jiraiya and Naruto kept walking for a few more minutes in silence while they were being escorted by three Suna chuunin and Temari.

When they arrived, Temari spoke again, "Well, here you are Jiraiya-sama… Naruto. If you need anything, just call me or use these chuunins, they are at your disposition. Also, Kazekage-sama kindly invites you to join him in dinner tonight. I shall come and pick you up at 7. Then if you permit, I shall take my leave. Rest well."

After Temari bowed and quickly closed the door, she ordered the 3 chuunin escorts to scram and return later and then she leaned back against the door. She could still feel her heart pounding, her face flushed and her body was shaking as well.

"_Mou! Why can't I even look at him on the face? Why did I feel so nervous around him? Mattaku! This isn't like me at all!" _with that said she finally went about her way, still feeling flustered.

"… Ne, Ero-sennin… Why was Temari acting like that? I mean, it's only you and me right? It's not like she doesn't know us, also it's not like we're VIP right?"

"Well, one thing for sure, _YOU_ are _NOT_ important _AT ALL_, but _I AM_. And because of the fact that _I AM_ a _VIP_, she's got to act like that, it's politics… you don't want to know further… at least for now…" Jiraiya explained, putting strong emphasis on some words.

"Hmm… that's weird… I don't know why but, for some reason… I think that… she's been trying to avoid my regard…" Naruto said sadly.

"You're just imagining it, Naruto… Well, just get some rest now and be ready for dinner tonight, alright? I'm going to sleep for a bit… Wake me up at 6.30…" with that said the white-haired Sennin went to sleep and snored like there's no tomorrow.

"… Stupid perverted old man…" Naruto said in irritation.

* * *

Meanwhile in Konoha; inside a Yakiniku restaurant sat Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Shino, Neji, and Lee. Akamaru was waiting outside because the restaurant prohibited pets inside.

"… Mind telling us why you gathered us here, Shikamaru?"

"Yeah, Neji's right. And this better be fast 'coz I sure can't let Akamaru wait outside for too long!"

"Calm down, geez… it's already too troublesome to gather you guys here… It's even more troublesome to make you guys shut up and let me do the talking…"

"Yeah, just let Shikamaru do the talking while we just listen and eat… Look! The meat's cooked already… itadakimasu!"

"…"

"So what is it, Shikamaru-kun? The Spring Time of Youth does not wait! Let us start already!"

"Yes, yes..."

A few seconds of silence reined at the table where they sat before Shikamaru opened his mouth to talk.

"Well, I gathered you here to discuss about Naruto…"

All eyes stared at Shikamaru, but the lazy shinobi remained calm, he was expecting it.

"What about him?" the beast master asked, sounded slightly angry.

"… What do you think?" Shikamaru asked back questioningly.

"What do you mean what do I think?! You're the one who asked me!"

"Yeah, what do you think of him? A fiend? A liar? Or… A friend?" The strategy genius shot back at the beast master, who jumped a little.

"W-what?! I…"

"You don't know. Your past memories conflict with your current memories which make your mind confused."

"… I see where you're getting at…" the Hyuuga prodigy crossed his arms and closed his eyes; the others were confused except for Shino.

"What do you mean, Neji?" the self-proclaimed green beast asked.

"It's just my theory but… I'm guessing Shikamaru thinks if we have been somewhat _deceived_ concerning the truth about Naruto… Or am I wrong, Shikamaru?"

The brown-haired shinobi smiled slightly and pointed a finger at Neji, "Bang, exactly my thoughts, Neji… as expected from a Hyuuga… bright as always…" Neji just shrugged.

"Deceived? What do you mean deceived?! Don't you remember that time? Naruto was…" Kiba shouted but stopped midway.

"Exactly, Kiba… he was not Naruto… well, not the Naruto that we knew at least."

"As impressive your theory may be, Shikamaru… but do you have at least a proof or anything? Because clearly, theory alone won't be enough to convince me… although I personally do prefer your theory to be true…" The bug master spoke.

"I know what you mean, Shino. I don't have any proof with me, but I may know one witness…" the chuunin genius said confidently.

"A witness… you say? But… the only person that time was…" Lee asked outraged while Chouji stopped eating his meat, Shino and Neji stayed indifferent and Kiba confused.

"Yes. Haruno Sakura"

* * *

Back in Suna, it's already a quarter past six and Naruto was lying on his bed. He still couldn't sleep, instead, his mind was filled with thoughts of his near future. Ever since he left Konoha to pursue a Sennin path, Naruto couldn't reminisce anymore.

"… _if I successfully become a S__ennin… my whole life will change… but will they? Even by being a Sennin I still can't see my future… Am I making another mistake now? Feh, so much for being Konoha's number 1 most unpredictable ninja…"_Naruto stopped his thoughts for a second,_ "Ninja? Huh… what the hell am I talking about? I'm not a ninja anymore… I'm… right now I'm… nothing…"_

A knock shook Naruto out from his thoughts,_"Who might that be?"_ he thought but answered the knock nonetheless. "Yes?"

"Excuse me, Ji… Ah…" Temari's eyes shot wide when she saw Naruto sitting on his bed not wearing his forehead protector and without his jumpsuit or his shirt covering his top half. The view made her to blush but Naruto didn't notice and stayed silent for awhile. "Ah... s-sorry… I-I thought Jiraiya-sama was awake already… um…"

"Aah, Ero-sennin? Wait, I'll wake him up for yo-…" Naruto couldn't finish his sentence as he got cut off by Temari, "No! I-I mean… um… it's- it's not necessary, I just w-wanted to tell you to get ready b-because it's dinner time soon… and uh…"

Now Naruto noticed how red her face was and was about to ask her if she's alright when Jiraiya woke up, "Hn? What is it?" he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Ah, Ero-sennin… Go get yourself ready… Temari-san's here to pick us up…"

"S-sumimasen!"

"Ha? What are you apologizing for?" Naruto asked confused.

"_Hn?"_Jiraiya thought as he looked at Temari's red face.

"A-Ah… n-nothing… I-I'd better wait outside…" Temari rushed outside with a red face and closed the door behind her with a slam.

After she closed the door, Jiraiya took a look at himself then at Naruto who was oblivious to whatever just happened._"I see" _the Gama Sennin smirked and went to the bathroom leaving the blond-haired boy even more confused.

A few moments later, Naruto and Jiraiya met with the Kazekage.

"Ga… Ah… Kazekage-sama…" Naruto tried to cover his excitement for meeting his red-haired friend.

"Naruto… You don't have to act so formal around me. How are you, my friend?" Gaara replied and formed what seemed like a smile at Naruto.

For a moment, Naruto felt calmness and relief. It felt as if he has found his refuge. The past few months had been hard for the cheerful genin, however, when he realized that faraway from his village, there are still people who cared for him, he felt really happy. Gaara still cared for him. He was still considering Naruto as a friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine dattebayo!!" For the first time in the last few months, Naruto showed his cheerful grin that came from the bottom of his heart, Jiraiya noticed and smiled.

"Yo, Naruto… It's been a while, eh?" A brown haired man wearing all-black attire greeted Naruto, who looked confused.

"Eh? You're… uh… Who're you again?" Naruto asked, smiling sheepishly.

"What the hell?! It hasn't even been 3 months ever since and you already forgot about me?!" the puppet master said irritated.

"Naruto, that's Kankurou, I thought you met him without his puppets and face paint that time? Is he really not that recognizable without his puppets and face paint?" Temari asked sounded amused.

"Aaagh Temari-neechan! Are you suggesting that I should have permanent face paint on or something? No, rather… is it that BAD to use face paint?!"

"Not at all, Kankurou-kun! These people just don't understand the beauty of face paint!" Jiraiya cut through and put his arms on Kankurou's shoulders and started crying (A/N: Just imagine Gai and Lee scene together but with Jiraiya and Kankurou in their place, yeah… It's somewhat disturbing)

"Jiraiya-sama! I knew you would understand the beauty of face paint!" Kankurou said, crying as well.

"Kankurou!"

"Jiraiya-sama!"

And then they hugged each other with tears of happiness pouring down their cheeks while Gaara, Naruto, and Temari could only stare in complete disgust.

"Ero-sennin…" Naruto said twitching.

"Kankurou…" Gaara continued.

"That's…" Temari said twitching as well.

"_Gross/Disgusting_" The three said at the same time with utmost disgust.

And then dinner started. They sat across each other, the sand trio on one side, while Jiraiya and Naruto at the other side. Jiraiya sat across Gaara; Kankurou sat across no one and Temari sat across Naruto. Once again, Temari started to feel nervous, she's starting to sweat nervously and she couldn't even raised her head fearing to look at Naruto face to face.

"Well then, let us eat, shall we? Jiraiya-sama, please help yourself" Gaara commenced.

"If you say so then, ittadakimasu!" Jiraiya said as he grabbed his chopsticks to devour the food.

"Saa, Jiraiya-sama, please try this! It's a delicacy from Suna!" Kankurou offered something that has a 'very interesting' form for Jiraiya's 'kinds'.

"Hoo, and what might this be?" asked interestingly.

Kankurou stood up and walked toward the white haired Sannin. Everyone just looked up and then he whispered something to Jiraiya. The others kept on looking at them as if it became somewhat important. As Kankurou kept on whispering, Jiraiya's face started to change into his perverted façade and a perverted grin appeared on his face.

"ITTADAKIMASU! ITTADAKIMASU! ITTADAKIMAAAASU!!!" he said happily still with that grin on his face. Kankurou also started to have a perverted grin on his face.

"Kankurou, I'd wish to have a word with you later, so come to my office after dinner."

"Ah? Y-yes…" The puppet master shuddered at his younger brother's sudden request.

"My brother's the worst…" Temari slapped her head and looked away in disgust and embarrassment.

"I understand, Temari…" Naruto looked at Jiraiya and continued, "My sensei embarrasses me too…" Naruto sighed then looked up and coincidentally met with Temari's gaze.

Temari shot up steams from her ears and her face became redder than tomatoes. Her siblings didn't seem to understand her sudden behavior and just shrugged. However, Jiraiya smirked and glanced toward Naruto, _"I thought so… Naruto you lucky dog, you…"_

Naruto was, being who he is, wondering what might have happened to Temari. He wanted to ask her about it but decided to leave it for another time as he started to dig in as well; he hasn't been eating anything since afternoon. Dinner went fast without anymore scene and Kankurou tried to runaway as fast as he could but got caught by Gaara's sand and the latter excused himself while dragging Kankurou, fully covered in sand toward the Kazekage's office.

"T-Temari-neechan! Help me…" Kankurou pleaded but his sister ignored him completely.

* * *

At the same time inside the Hokage tower, the busty Godaime was having a problem; she was sitting, her fingers folded together and her hands holding something, "What should I do? Nawaki… Dan… please tell me… what should I do?" she kept on repeating these words as she tightened the grip of her hands.

It was a necklace, the exact same necklace that she owned and later gave to Naruto.

Rain started to fall when near a Yakiniku restaurant; a group of six people were heading somewhere, they let the rain poured on them. Their determination was serious and strong.

"Shikamaru..."

"Hn? What is it, Neji?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"... Yeah, sure..."

"If you can think of such theory... Why now? Why not a day or two after that time?Why did it take you two and a half months to tell us?"

"... Guess I've been busy... You should know yourself, no? The amount of missions we've all received since then became ten times much more than usual... So bottom line is, I've been busy yeah..."

Neji just sighed and shook his head, although he also didn't want to admit that Shikamaru was right. They did receive more solo or team missions ever since that day. The group kept on walking under the heavy rain, not caring for their wet clothes.

Meanwhile, a couple of blocks away, a figure was lying down on the cold wooden floor. A girl with pink hair and green eyes was lying down on the floor in Naruto's apartment. Tears were still fresh on her cheeks.

"Naruto… Where are you? Please forgive me…" and a few more tears made their way down, toward the cold, wooden floor.

* * *

A/N: Well there you are, I'm sorry if it looks kind of short or anything... Also I'm sorry if one of the characters' gon OOC beyond belief but 'ey, i told ya didn't I? This ain't no Naruto Shippuuden, I'm just taking their teenage forms and characters from Shippuuden... It ain't no continuation from the manga or anything, just a whole new different plot... ah shit, enough blabbering from me, I'm feelin too tired to even type correctly and i'm still sick... well, you know the drill... Holla! 


	4. Chapter 4: Sudden Date

A/N: Hello to y'all! First thang first, hope y'all got a happy Eid Adha, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year... I did alright btw. hahaha... So second thang, yes, this is the fourth chapter y'all been waiting for (... or not?) but anyway, i just want to say that this is indeed the longest I've written so far. I kinda feel proud of it although the content might be quite average, well, not that it matters anyway... So for now, no long blabbering n stuff, i'mma let y'all enjoy now, oh wait, i know this ain't important, but 3000 hits! Doesn't matter if most of it came from ppl who just clicked n read a few lines or something, and even if it's from ppl who actually read it over and over again, now that's even better! uh yeah, anyway, thanks for reading my fic and hope y'all enjoy this chappie, holla!

_** Disclaimer: Uh, do i really have to point this out in every chapter? coz it sure is tiring... but oh well, i own nothing but the fic only, viva Kishimoto-sama! **_

* * *

_**Chapter IV- Sudden Date**_

The next morning in Konoha, Sakura called in sick. She was locking herself in her room, the entire day which worried her mother even more. Although Sakura's mother kept checking on her every now and then, the pink haired girl kept herself locked inside her room.

Word of Sakura calling in sick reached her friends. Ino, Hinata, and Tenten took some of their time to visit her.

As it reached the girls, it also reached Shikamaru's ears and the boys. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Shikamaru headed straight toward the Haruno residence. The ex-Rookie 9 and Gai's Team were all heading to the same place, with two different reasons.

"…Sakura-chan? Ino-chan and your friends are here… Open the door, will you? Please?" Sakura's mother pleaded, three kunoichi stood behind her quietly.

At first there was no response but when she was about to knock once again, the door opened slightly revealing a teary red-eyed Sakura. Her mother was shocked at Sakura's condition; she never thought it would be that bad. At the same time, the other kunoichi could only gasp at the sight.

"I…no… Hi…nata-san… T-Tenten-san…" Sakura said weakly, the girls greeted back.

"Y-yo, Sakura…"

"H-hello, Sakura-san…"

"… Girl, you look like shit…"

Tenten received a glare from Ino while Hinata could only fidget. Sakura just smiled weakly and let her friends in after reassuring her mother that she was fine.

"So, mind to tell us what happened? You calling in sick is just a lie, isn't it?" The weapon mistress asked bluntly.

"Tenten! Can't you think of her feelings before asking such a blunt question? Although I also want to know…" Ino muttered the last part sheepishly.

"A-ano, Sakura-san… A-are you alright?' the Hyuuga heiress asked politely.

"Minna… Don't worry! I'm fine… The truth is… I messed up some jutsu… Ehehehe…" Sakura lied as she slipped her tongue in a joking manner.

"… Are you sure? 'Coz you sure don't seem like a person to fuck up a jutsu to me…" Tenten said unconvinced as she eyed Sakura suspiciously.

"Hontou yo… I'm alright, beside Tenten-san… I'm not perfect too you know… One little distraction and you can mess things up…" Sakura replied and smiled.

"Ohoo, I see… Now that's interesting…" Tenten smirked.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked oblivious.

"Well duh, what had distracted you? Ah! Masaka… Don't tell me it's a guy?!" Tenten nudged Sakura's rib while hiding her grin with her other hand.

"Nn, it's nothing like that, Tenten-san… Really…" Sakura denied, shaking her head.

"Hn, beside Tenten… If there should be someone to distract Sakura, it must be Sasuke… or maybe Naruto?" Ino pondered, the last part stung Sakura's heart like lightning.

"W-what are you saying, Ino-san?"

Hinata's abrupt reply awoken Sakura from her thoughts, "A-ah… That's right, I-I just got distracted while trying a jutsu… I-I wasn't thinking about those two… At all…" Sakura looked down; her lies began to look too real for her.

* * *

Meanwhile outside the Haruno residence, a lone chuunin stood under the cloudy sky, smoking a cigarette as he stared the grey skies.

"Yo, Shikamaru…"

"Kiba… Akamaru…" the boy greeted back with a nod, puffing smokes as he greeted.

"Bark!"

"Where's Shino?"

Kiba replied with a shrug, "I have no idea; we didn't have training this morning… So I guess he either have a mission with his dad or out looking for some bugs…"

"_Insects_, it's_insects_, Kiba. And as a matter of fact I was indeed looking for some _insects_…" Shino, who appeared from nowhere said with an insulted tone behind Kiba's back which surprised him.

"W-WHOAA! You scared me, Shino! Can't you greet first then talk like how normal people do?!"

"… I thought it won't be necessary seeing how your sense of smell is higher than the average human's?" Shino replied, positioning his shades.

"… Right, we'll have these 'sense-of-smell talk' later, guys… Here comes Neji, Lee and Chouji…"

"Hello everyone! Such a youthful morning, although the clouds are kind of ruining it… But it doesn't matter because we should run 500 laps around Konoha to burn our youthful body, my youthful compa-…" Lee said energetically but got cut off by his 'youthful' rival, Neji.

"Shut up, Lee… Have you already forgotten why we're here? Zip it already… And Shikamaru, how are we going to proceed?"

"Oi, oi Neji… This isn't some kind of a mission alright? Chill… We'll just enter through the front door like normal people do, then…" Kiba stopped when Shikamaru cut him off.

"No, Kiba… As a matter of fact we ARE going to proceed carefully. Now listen to my super-kick-ass-fabulous-and-one-of-a-kind plan and you guys' better listen well because it's going to be troublesome to repeat it all over again…"

"… Right…" Kiba rolled his eyes but Shikamaru just ignored him.

"Okay, so as usual I want Neji to guard the rear, Kiba you take the front… Then I'll have Shino after Kiba so that he can back Kiba up with his bugs… Okay, Shino, _Insects…_Jeez" Shikamaru corrected himself after Shino glared at him behind his shades, and then he continued, "So like I was saying, Shino will be after Kiba and Lee right after Shino. I'll be behind Lee and Chouji will be behind me. Understand so far?"

Everyone nodded except Neji, "Shikamaru… You do notice that it's only Sakura-san's house right? Furthermore, we are most likely going to enter her room… _right_?" The Hyuuga prodigy said as-a-matter-of-factly in a questioning manner.

Shikamaru growled then retorted, "Yeah of course, it's all just for precaution Neji… Who knows, there might be ANBU guarding her or something… I didn't become chuunin first and before all of you for nothing you know? Beside weren't you the one who asked me how to proceed in the first place?"

Neji stayed silent but cursed Shikamaru under his breath, but Shikamaru ignored him and continued, "Well then! Let's proceed this way; Kiba, with your sense of smell, distinguish who are inside, most probably if my guess is right, there should only be her mother, Ino, Hinata and Tenten, but we can never be too careful…" Kiba nodded but asked something.

"But how do you know there are Ino, Hinata, and Tenten inside?" Shikamaru just replied casually, "Because I saw them going inside a few minutes ago… Then, Shino and Lee… Do nothing unless I tell you to…" Lee and Shino nodded.

"Chouji… Well, just do whatever you always do…" Chouji nodded and opened a bag of chips and began eating them.

Shikamaru then pointed at Neji, "And you, Neji… I want you to activate your byakugan right now and set a perimeter of 1 mile, I don't want anyone to butt in…"

Neji closed his eyes for a second before activating his bloodline ability, "**Byakugan!**"

After a few moments, Neji deactivated it and reported to Shikamaru, "It's safe". Shikamaru nodded and spoke again.

"Alright, so this is how it's going to be, we'll divide it in two possible scenarios. First, if all the people that Kiba sniffed are those that I think they are, I'll enter first followed by you guys. However, if even one of the people that Kiba sniffed is a stranger who may have disguised him or herself, stay in position and I'll try to come up with something. Understood?"

Upon seeing Shikamaru's serious face, everyone nodded with determination which earned a smile from the strategist genius. However, sometime the inside doesn't sync with the outside.

"_Shikamaru really need to lay low with his skills…We're only here for a small talk for fuck sake…" _Neji thought as they proceeded.

"… _Got to make a mental note to hang out less with Shikamaru… He's too obsessed with his strategic ability…Not that it's a really bad thing, but still…" _Shino thought as he passed Neji.

"_Man, every time Shikamaru lays__ down his strategy, I think it's on par with Sasuke's angsty speech!"_ Kiba thought and mentally snickered.

"_Man… I want to eat some yakiniku…"_Chouji thought as he looked up to the sky solemnly.

Shikamaru shivered for a moment and turned to look at his companions, realizing everything was the same he decided to ignore his feelings and said, "Well then, let's go…"

* * *

In Sunagakure, Jiraiya was awoken rather rudely, he cursed to whoever dared to wake him up when he was having such a 'nice' dream. But then the view of Naruto holding an empty vase set the toad master to a better mood. He knew that he had already promised to teach Naruto, so he can't really get mad at him.

Jiraiya groaned and said, "Come on, Naruto… At least let me sleep some more? Last night I had some information gathering for err, the ANBU… Yeah that's right…" He grinned sheepishly.

Naruto slapped his forehead and groaned in return, "Ero-sennin…! I already know that 90 of your 'information gathering' is for your dirty novels. And no you can't sleep some more coz it's already noon damn it! WHEN THE HELL are we going to start my training, you dirty pervert?!"

"Ah yeah, about that… Umm, well no need to rush it, Naruto… I mean, you know…" Jiraiya grinned but Naruto just grunted until Temari opened the door abruptly.

"Excuse me, is everything alright? I heard some screaming and…" Temari's head popped in and tried her hard not to look at Naruto.

"Ah iie, iie, sorry Temari-san… It's nothing, don't worry…" Naruto replied, rubbing the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

"I-is that so? A-Alright then, excuse me…" with a soft thud, Temari disappeared from their view; Jiraiya just stared at the now closed door and then looked at Naruto.

"Mm? What is it now, Ero-sennin?!" Naruto raised a suspicious eyebrow at his sensei, who just smiled cheekily.

"Mm, nothing… Well, what are we waiting for then? Let's make you a sennin, shall we?"

"It's about time!" Naruto grinned widely and raised his fist shoulder length to add his excitement.

* * *

At another part of the building; Temari was lying on her bed, closing her eyes with one of her arms; she just came back from Suna's VIP rooms. She unconsciously said out loud what was on her mind.

"Haaaa… Why do I always feel so uneasy around him? It never happened before… I mean sure the guy has changed a lot since last time we've met, but then… I don't know… It's not like he has changed _that_ much now, has he?"

She moved sideways and stayed silent for a while, until someone knocked on her door. She sat on her bed and answered the knocks. "Yes?"

"Yo, Temari-chan…" Kankurou's head popped in, Temari just raised an eyebrow at her brother.

"What is it, Kankurou-niisan?" she asked inquiringly.

"Nothing much… It's just that… I noticed you weren't your usual self last night… Something wrong? Oh, and I told you that you don't have to call me nii-san, didn't I?" the puppet master asked back, the door opened wider, revealing his entire body.

"Ah, yeah… Sorry, you know habits…" Temari looked up, sighed and then stayed silent for a second before replying, "Mm, I actually don't know myself what's wrong with me…"

"Is there, maybe… Someone who's bugging you? If there is, I'll gladly bust a cap on his mo-fo ass, imotou…" the cat-man said, his fist rose firmly.

Temari giggled and said, "Nah, nothing like that Kankurou-nii, I'm fine thanks… By the way, don't you have something else to do?"

Kankurou groaned and replied, "Yeah I sure do, some freaking paper works… It sucks ass to be an administrative jonin… You can't move as much as you used to back when you were still a chuunin or genin for that matter…"

Temari giggled some more and teased playfully, "Well then, I suggest you go back to your desk before Gaara heard what you just said"

"Uh, right… Well then I'd better get going, yeah? You have a nice day now, imotou… Ja!" Kankurou waved a hand casually at his sister and walked off.

Temari smiled and then lied down on her bed once again, she glanced at her battle fan and thought, _"Might as well train for a bit… I don't think they're going to need me that often anyway… Just like they say, when in doubt, go break a sweat…"_ she took her battle fan and headed out to the training ground.

When Temari arrived; she spotted two figures that she knew too well. One being a very tall person with a long white hair, while the other being a shorter guy with a bright blond hair.

Being who she is, she kept on walking toward the two figures. Once Temari decided on something, she will do it. The blond turned so suddenly he almost collided with Temari.

"Oh, so sorry Temari-san… I didn't notice you were behind me…" the blond said apologetically.

"N-no… it's alright… A-are you going to use this training ground?' she asked, still trying to avoid Naruto's stare.

"Well, yes and no… Yes because we're using it right now and no because we're not covering all the ground…" the taller figure said with an intellectual smile pasted on his face.

"What do you mean, Jiraiya-sama?" she asked confused.

"Well you see, Naruto here is currently training to become a Sennin." Jiraiya explained proudly.

Temari let out a surprised voice and reflexively looked at Naruto, "A sennin? Naruto?"

"Hm? What? You don't think I'm going to make it or something?" Naruto crossed his arms and pouted, Temari quickly tried to find an excuse.

"N-no, no… that's not what I meant… I mean… It's uhm, quite surprising…" she said with an awkward smile, Naruto just grinned.

"Yeah, you can say so… Well, what about you Temari-san? Were you going to use this training ground?" Naruto asked her casually.

"A-Ah! Well… I was but…" before she could finish her sentence, Naruto cut her.

"Aay… Suman, suman! Please… Go ahead and use it… We're about done anyway so…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head again.

"Ah, N-no! I-it's alright… I mean, I don't usually use this training ground, but the other one…" she replied still feeling awkward.

"The other one? Ah! You mean the one behind that hill?" Naruto asked, pointing at the direction of an average hill.

"Eh? Y-you knew? That's not even an official training ground… How…?" She asked sounding surprised.

"Well…" Naruto was about to explain but Jiraiya cut him.

"If you allow me to explain, Ojou-san…" Jiraiya smirked.

"One of the basic ability of a sennin, is observation… A sennin used by a shinobi village will most likely become said village's first man scout. In other words, he or she's going to be the eyes and ears of a shinobi village in the front line." Temari nodded.

"…Thus, to be a sennin, you must be able to know your surroundings for as far as you can. The further the better…" Temari nodded once again as she listened to Jiraiya carefully.

"… And thus, it came back to your question earlier, on whether we're using this training ground or not…" Temari looked confused at first but then she understood.

"Ah, so that's what you were doing?! You were covering ground, weren't you?" She asked understandingly.

"Exactly" Jiraiya smiled.

"Mm? But… How do you do that? I mean… As far as I know, all you did earlier was standing in one place, not moving… Did you use any special techniques or..."

"Well, not really… there are many ways to do it, in Naruto's case, he's using this…" Temari looked confused once again at Jiraiya, who just pointed at Naruto who formed a hand seal and said, "_**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**_"

A loud pop and a smokescreen covered the area for a few second and a clone of Naruto stood beside him, grinning. Temari was amazed and nodded, "I see…"

"Since Naruto's stamina and chakra is close to infinite, his use of kage bunshin will be most efficient for jobs like this." Jiraiya said proudly, Naruto just grinned.

"Heee… Eh? But what if the enemy spots you? Won't you be in trouble then?" She asked again with curiosity.

"Hahaha oi, oi… Temari-san… Are you, by any chance, interested in being a Sennin as well? You seemed pretty interested on the subject…" Jiraiya said jokingly.

Temari blushed and tried to hide her flared cheeks, but Naruto stopped her in doing so as he took her hands and stared straight at her face.

"Eh?! Masaka… Temari-san too? Are you interested in being a sennin? Ne, ne… Why? From when I last saw you fight, you're pretty strong too… Especially with your wind jutsus, you were amazing!"

Temari blushed harder after hearing Naruto praising her, "I… I-I… I'm… umh…"

"… Ah! If you are interested in becoming a sennin, why don't we train together? I'm sure it'll be more fun this way too!"

"Eh?!" Temari let out at the Naruto's sudden proposal, "I… I… Uhm, I-I…"

Naruto was completely oblivious to Temari's sudden stuttering and red face; instead he gave his trademark foxy grin. Jiraiya observed those two from near until a soft popping sound reached his ears.

"Hmn? A messenger?" he said as he picked up a small toad with a small bag attached on its back.

Jiraiya opened the bag and took a piece of paper; he unrolled it and read the content while the two blonds were still having the same conversation.

After re-reading it once again, Jiraiya re-rolled the piece of paper and turned his back from the blonds, "I've got to go. Urgent matter"

Both blonds just stared at him before saying, "Huh?" at the same time.

"Well Temari-san, I'm very sorry but I have an urgent matter to attend to, please do tell Kazekage-sama about my sudden departure, but I have to go now." Temari just nodded accordingly, sensing the urgency.

"And you, Naruto… Well, guess we just got to suspend our session for a bit… Sorry for that… But you know better than anyone, duty comes first… Well then see you in a bit, bye!"

With that said, Jiraiya body flickered himself behind a smokescreen that appeared out of nowhere, leaving the two blonds staring dumbly at the dissipating smokescreen.

"Great… Now I don't have anything to do until he gets back…" Naruto sighed.

"You can still train right? I mean, you can try to adapt with this training ground… And uh…" Temari said with her usual self although she still stuttered a bit.

Naruto stared at her and then grinned, "Hehehe… Now _this_ is the Temari that I know…"

"Wh-what do you mean?" She glanced at him, trying to act normal.

"Well, for one thing… I like you better like this… It's more like you, you know what I mean?" Naruto grinned but Temari stayed silent, confused.

"Well, the Temari before is alright too I guess… But I like it better when you act more natural, Temari…"

She stayed quiet for some time until she snapped with a blush on her face, "A-Aah! Wh-who said you can call me so familiarly? Remember, I'm older than you! Where's your respect?!"

"Hahaha… Ii yo? It's not like you really care about it right? If you do, you'd correct me long ago… Well, putting that aside, I'm just glad that you're here, Temari…" Naruto smiled warmly at her, who slightly blushed.

Naruto smiled once again, "Hmm, what am I going to do now? I don't really feel like training now that Ero-sennin just ran… Hmm…" Naruto pondered for some ideas, Temari stole glances at him.

She thought of something then looked away for a moment before she spoke, "A-ano… If you want I can… I can show you around?"

Naruto looked at her for a moment and she started to blush again because he stayed silent. _"Ah, shit!! He must think I'm weird or something! Quick! I've got to find an excuse!"_

"Sounds good…" Naruto suddenly said, Temari looked at him in surprise, "... Eh?"

"Yeah, now that I think about it, I've never been around Suna before… So why not? Where are we going first, Temari?" The blue-eyed boy asked as he folded his hands and put them on the back of his head.

"…Eeeh?!" Temari shrieked a bit.

A while later, Naruto and Temari were walking around the busy area. However, the street weren't as busy as its name.

"…Ano, Temari?" Naruto asked the blonde kunoichi, who was crimson.

"…Yes…'" she replied softly, her shoulders were hanging in defeat.

"Are streets in Suna supposed to be empty? Or it's just this time of a day?" he asked again raising an eyebrow.

"…Well… Not really. Most of the time it's supposed to be empty… This place often gets sandstorms so… instead of doing business outside, we do it inside…"

"Hee… I see I see… I suppose it could get very troublesome to close the store when there's a sudden sandstorm, ne… Hmm?' Naruto nodded then looked to his left.

"Ano sa ano sa! Temari! Is that what I think it is?!" the boy asked with delight at the girl, who looked to her left as well, "Eh? What? You mean that ramen restaurant?"

"So it IS what I thought it was! Let's go in Temari! I haven't had any ramen since I left Konoha! Iku yo, iku! Come on!" Naruto said cheerfully as he inadvertently grabbed Temari's hand and pulled her into the ramen shop, causing her to blush even harder.

"Irrashaii!"

"Ossan! One bowl of miso ramen! And you, Temari? My treat!" He asked grinning at the blonde.

"Eh, um… M-me too… Miso ramen, oji-san…" She said as they both sat down on the stool.

"Hee… This' quite a rare sight… Sabaku no Temari… Eating ramen at my place" the owner, by the name of Sanraku, said grinning teasingly.

"Hahaha… I'm sorry oji-san… these past years had been quite hectic for me…" She replied apologetically.

"What are you saying, Temari-san?! It's alright, yo! Beside, you'll always be my favorite customer! Hahaha! So don't worry about it!" Sanraku said laughingly.

"…Hee… I didn't know that you like ramen too, Temari… I guess we kind of make a pair don't we?" Naruto grinned playfully but Temari almost spat all of her drink, her face turned deep red.

Temari clearly took Naruto's words in a different way and Sanraku noticed, "Well, well… You know this cheerful fella, Temari-san? Is he perhaps your…" He showed his pinky finger and smirked at Temari, who blushed even harder if that's even possible.

"N-n-nononononono!! I mean not yet… Ah! I mean NO! We-we-we are j-just friends! Yes!! Just friends!' Temari said denying with all her might.

"Hahaha, Ossan! Why would I become her boyfriend? She sure deserves someone better than me!" Naruto cut in laughingly.

"But kid, seeing you, I know that you must love ramen as much as you love your friends… I'm sure you've heard of this saying… Someone who loves ramen must be…"

"… A good person and never a bad person…" Naruto finished Sanraku's sentence and they both smiled widely.

"Exactly my thoughts then… Who else's better than you? Of course a guy that loves ramen more than you but that's a different story… You love ramen, so you must be a good person and from the way you look, I think you're quite reliable and strong too" Sanraku grinned at Naruto, who grinned back.

"Hehehe, thanks Ossan! But really, she deserves someone far better than me… Back home; I'm just a loser…" Naruto muttered the last part which went unnoticed by Sanraku, but not by Temari.

"Naw, nonsense! Anyway, here comes two bowls of miso ramen! Doozoo!"

Naruto and Temari grabbed their bowls and began to eat, "Itadakimasu!"

After they finished their first bowl, Temari ordered another one while Naruto ordered 2 more. After paying up, Naruto and Temari went about their way and left the ramen shop.

"Phew… I'm so full!" Naruto said, rubbing his stomach delightfully.

Temari giggled, "Why am I not surprised? You ate three bowls straight, of course you'd be full…"

"But back home, I usually eat at least 5 bowls, and sometime if I'm way too hungry, I can make Ichiraku-ossan go bankrupt, I swear!" Naruto said with a cheerful tone.

"Really, Naruto… I'm starting to wonder what are you… I mean, you have an almost infinite chakra, you have an amazing stamina, but also a huge appetite and you're very kind too…"

Temari smiled at him, Naruto felt a tinge of emotion deep inside but ignored it and just smiled back. "Ahahaha, yeah… Guess I'm not your average human, huh?" He smirked; a small blush appeared on his cheeks.

"Well then, where do you want to go next?' Temari asked leaning forward to look at him from below.

Having Temari this close to him made Naruto turn redder but then an idea came into mind, "A-ah! Yeah… I-I want to pay my respect to Chiyo-baasama…"

Then off they went toward the graveyard, Naruto stayed silent for a good ten minutes before he spoke again, "… I'm… really grateful toward Chiyo-baasan… if she hadn't been there… I might have lost a precious friend…"

Temari quietly listened and smiled, and then Naruto stayed silent once again. A few minutes later, Naruto turned around to face his escort.

"Ne, Temari… Is there any place where I can see Suna from above?" a grin painted on his face.

Temari was caught by surprise when he suddenly turned around, but quickly regained composure, "Huh? Y-yeah… I guess…"

"Really? Let's go there then!" he said as he grabbed Temari's hand once again and walked forward but stopped at once, realizing something, "Ah, right… I don't know where this place is… My bad…" He grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

Temari just smiled warmly and pulled Naruto's hand, taking him to the place with a cheerful smile on her face.

"Come, it's up there" she said pointing upward, Naruto followed eagerly.

Temari pulled Naruto throughout Suna smiling happily while Naruto followed smilingly as well. They both have forgotten about their surroundings and kept on moving forward.

"Here we are…" Temari said before she turned to look at Naruto.

"Uwaaah… It's so beautiful… This view…" an amazed Naruto commented at the sight of Suna at dusk.

"The sunset gives more beauty to Suna… The red color of the sunset mixes with the color of the buildings and the sand… It's so… Beautiful…" Temari smiled widely as if it was her whom he just praised.

"It's been a while I haven't visited this place… Before I became genin, I used to visit this place often… It kind of feels nostalgic…" She said stretching her arms.

"Eeeh? Then why did you stop coming? It's such a good place to relax and kick back and it's beautiful as hell too…" Naruto turned to face Temari, who faced him too.

"Eh? Eh? W-well… You know… Stuffs… I mean, ever since I became genin and was put in a team with Gaara and Kankurou… I guess… I barely got time to come anymore…" she looked forward, smiling sadly as her cheeks turned red.

"Hmm… I see… Then, how about this? Let's meet up here every weekend at dusk!" The blond genin smiled widely at Temari, who was surprised by his idea.

"Wh-what?" Her eyes went wide; she stared at Naruto in disbelief.

"I mean, like… You must be tired and stressed out after work right? So every weekend! Let's meet up here and release your stress… What do you think?" Naruto asked grinning widely.

"I… I-I… Ano…" Temari stuttered and she was blushing brightly, Naruto noticed and moved closer to her which stunned said kunoichi even more.

"E-Eh? Na-Naruto?"

"Temari… Are you sick? You're face is red" Naruto removed Temari's forehead protector and placed his forehead on hers, Temari blushed even harder and her heart was racing. Then she blacked out.

"Eh?! Te-Temari?! Oi! Hang in there! Are you ok?! Temari!!" Naruto yelled as he supported the fainted sand kunoichi on his arms.

* * *

Then somewhere,

"…_**up…"**_

"_... Huh? Where am I?"_

"_**Wake up, female…" **_a hoarse voice said, echoing everywhere.

"_... Huh? Aaah!! Wh-what are you?!"_ Temari who was wide awake quickly gotten into her fighting position, but she was missing something, or rather many things, which she noticed.

"_Eh? EEEEHHH!!!! WH-WHERE THE HELL ARE MY CLOTHES?! WHY AM I NAKED?!" _she screamed aloud while she was trying to cover her body.

The owner of the other voice just snickered and spoke again, this time Temari could distinguish 'it' better,_ "__**Kukukuku… no need to scream, female…"**_

The creature showed a wide grin, revealing its shiny yet threatening fangs. Temari shivered for a moment but then said creature spoke again.

"_**Do you know who I am?" **_The creature asked Temari, who stayed silent in both fear and amazement, "_**I am what you humans call as Kyuubi no Kitsune…" **_the fox grinned wider as it looked straight into Temari's eyes.

"_K-Kyuubi no…Kitsune…?" _Temari asked in disbelief.

"_**That's right, I am imprisoned inside this brat as you may have already known… However, the reason why you are here, female… Is because I wanted to ask you something…"**_Temari sweat and gulped.

"_**You… Are your feelings toward that brat sincere and strong?"**_

"…_What?" _Temari asked back looking perplexed.

"_**Do you love that brat from the bottom of your heart?" **_Kyuubi asked again with a grin this time

"_I… I don't know what you're talking about…" _she turned her face away to avoid Kyuubi's stare. Temari was blushing crimson, completely forgotten about her nakedness.

"_**Hn… Don't lie to me, female… Humans are so predictable… kukuku…" **_with that said, the whole surrounding seemed to blur and Temari was back into her own body.

"…ri… mari… Temari… TEMARI!" a voice woke Temari up from her black out.

"Uhn…? Naruto…?" She muttered.

"Temari! Yokattaa!!! Are you alright?!" Naruto looked at her and sighed in relief.

Temari tried to sit up with the help of Naruto when a voice rang in her head.

"…_**Don't tell him about our encounter, female… We'll meet up again very soon… kukuku…"**_

Temari looked around abruptly before she looked at herself; Naruto asked her if she's alright just to make sure.

"Ano… Temari? Are you alright?" Naruto asked but Temari didn't seem to pay him much attention.

"Ooh, thank God… I still have my clothes on…" she said in almost a mutter which was heard by Naruto nonetheless.

"E-Eeh?! Wh-wh-what do you mean, Temari?! I-I didn't do anything while you passed out! I swear dattebayo!" Naruto said loudly, his face turned deep red at the suggesting images inside his head.

Temari looked at Naruto and realized what she just said, "E-Eeh?! N-n-no! I-I mean… Aaah!!" Temari too was blushing madly not knowing what to say nor to do.

Both blondes quieted down after a few minutes and spent the end of the day on top of a sand dune, looking at the scenery of Suna from above at dusk before heading back home.

* * *

A/N: Well that's chapter 4, hope ya did enjoy... oh and for Mr. Lee, i know i really should put all the translation for the japanese words that i've used, but for this chapter, i mean, for this chapter ONLY! (the previous chapter doesn't count coz i forgot) I won't be putting them, reason? I'm too lazy, tired, and oh yeah, got to study for my final exams... uh, not too convincing? well, just for the next chapter n i'll put the translation, happy? thanks! so fellas, see ya next month, peace out! 


	5. Chapter 5: 2 Threats, 1 Revelation

_**A/N:**_ holla holla to y'all, how y'all doin'? 'neways, since it's nearin' da 14th, n y'all kno wat dat means, juz wanna shout out a happy Valentine's Day to y'all, be youse single or already have someone's precious. hahaha. next wanna thanks Anttolas fo pointin' out a lil mistake i did in the last chapter, but ey, wat can i say? i'm just a victim of misguiding information,, or maybe i was just dreamin' of Temari being the 2nd child, ya know coz it's cute, her callin' Gaara 'otouto' n Kankurou 'onii-san/nii-san/onii-chan' lool! also fo shadowshock12, well if it'll make ya feel better, i do all tha shit by myself, meanin' i write, proofread, n edit by myself, so yeah, but wat can i say? English ain't my mother tongue language but i sure am polishin' up by writin' n readin' fics, so yeah... speakin' of which, anyone wanna proofread my shit? juz buzz me aite, holla!

_**Disclaimer: aite aite, y'all kno da drill, i only own da plot yo, so don't ask me bout 'em characters n shit, holla!**_

* * *

_**Chapter V-**__** 2 Threats, 1 Revelation**_

Somewhere, in some dark cave, a total of nine people were rounded up together. Dark cloaks with red cloud patterns filled the surrounding. Then someone who seemed to be the leader spoke.

"How is the last preparation going?" the man asked, looking at Kakuzu.

"Everything is going according to plan. We all had our share of Jinchuuriki, and we've also prepared all the necessary things…"

"Very good… I expect everyone to be ready for the last Jinchuuriki… He isn't like any others that we've extracted so far… Isn't that right, Itachi?" He asked Itachi who stayed indifferent.

"…Yes"

"But hey, even though he might be different, but as long as you're the one to catch him, it would be an easy job, hn?" Deidara smirked.

"We'll see about that, Deidara, we'll see… just don't underestimate him and don't let your guard down… now dismiss!"

"Ha! Don't worry… we're going to get him alright, hnn!" Deidara snickered and disappeared, along with the rest.

* * *

In the meantime, Jiraiya was running through the thick forest of the Fire country toward Otogakure. He'd received news that Akatsuki was on the move, once again. Knowing he can't sit back and relax, he was about to meet with his spy near the outskirts of Otogakure. 

"Jiraiya-sama!" A cloaked man with a bandaged face approached him cautiously, behind the shadows.

"How's the status?" Jiraiya asked him not wasting any time, stopping only to catch his breaths.

"Really bad, Jiraiya-sama. I couldn't get too near because one of them was guarding the outside really well but I managed to gather some information." The spy replied, stopping solemnly just for the suspense.

"And? What did you get?"

"They're on the move…" He said solemnly but Jiraiya smacked his head in irritation.

"Well duh, you've already told me that, you dumb spy…" He retorted at the spy, who rubbed his head in pain.

"Well yeah, what I meant was that they are after Uzumaki Naruto… It seems that he's the last Jinchuuriki, sir…" he said, upon hearing his report, Jiraiya had his mouth gapped open.

"Are you… sure?" He asked hesitantly.

"Positive, Jiraiya-sama… also it seems that the leader himself is going to capture Uzumaki Naruto…" he continued.

"The leader!? Do you know who he is?"

"My apologies, I didn't catch any mention of his name nor his face, sir…"

"Darn… Well, any other information that you've got for me?"

"Mm, I don't know if it's important to the mission or not but…" the spy stopped hesitantly.

"What is it? Spill it out already…" Jiraiya replied impatiently.

"Jiraiya-sama… it seems that…" He started, hanging his phrase.

"What?!" Jiraiya became irritated, he has never been the serene kind of person when it comes information gathering.

"It seems that the selling rate of your novels is dropping tremendously, sir…" The spy finished his sentence but he didn't expect Jiraiya to react like he thought he would.

"WHHAAAAAAAATTTT??!!!" Jiraiya was so shocked he strangled his spy. "YOU ASS! THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF INFORMATION! YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME THAT BEFORE YOU TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT THE AKATSUKI, YOU DUMB SHIT!!! FUCK! NOW I'LL HAVE TO WORK TWICE AS HARD ON MY NEXT NOVEL, DAMN IT!!" Jiraiya shouted and hyperventilated as he strangled his spy and rocked him forward and backward.

"A-ah…Jiraiya…-sama… t-there's… mo-…more…" the spy managed to say as he struggled for his life.

"WHAT?! And it better be a good one! Coz I'm fuckin' pissed right now!"

"Y-yes… it seems that uhm (coughs)… Orochimaru's dead, sir…"

Jiraiya looked at him and froze. "… What?"

"Um, yes… my men haven't confirmed if he's really dead yet but last thing I heard was that Uchiha Sasuke the traitor killed him."

Jiraiya was even more surprised as he still froze in place. "What?"

* * *

Meanwhile somewhere near the border of the Fire Country, a group compromised of four people was preparing themselves. 

"So, tell me again what are doing?" Suigetsu asked as he put some clothes on.

"_Mou_… How many times does Sasuke-kun have to tell you, dumb ass?! Don't you ever listen?!" Karin retorted but Sasuke stopped her.

"It's alright, Karin… This will be the last time I say it, so you'd better remember, Suigetsu. Our group is meant to kill Itachi. In order to find him, we need a sure trump card. That's why we need Naruto. We're going to Konoha and kidnap him, that way Itachi must be coming for us, or all the Akatsuki for all I care…" he said calmly as he tied his black cloak.

"Now let's move…" Sasuke ordered, turning toward the door and walked off with his new companions following behind him.

* * *

Naruto and Temari were sparring in the meantime. So far it has been Temari's defeat as Naruto's stamina was as good as infinite. She panted and sat on the ground, leaning back with her hands acting as support. 

"Jeez, how much is your stamina anyway? We've been sparring for a few hours and yet you only managed to break a single sweat, while I'm already beat…" Temari pouted.

"Hahaha… don't know… but we did work up a good sweat, ne?" Naruto replied smilingly at her.

They've been training together ever since that day, it's been three days since. Temari had already forgotten about that evening on top of the sand dune, thinking that it must've been just a dream. Naruto took a towel and sat next to Temari, who flushed in surprise. Naruto handed her a towel as he leaned on his back, crossing his arms and supported his head.

"Aah… I'm tired… what shall we do now, Temari?" Naruto asked casually, turning his head to her.

"Mmm, I don't know… might as well get something to eat, no? I'm starving…" She said, putting a finger on her cheek, pondering.

"Sounds good to me! What are we going to eat then? Ramen? Miso Ramen? Pork Ramen?!" Naruto asked in excitement, even his eyes were sparkling.

"Naruto… we're not going to eat ramen!" Temari replied in a big sisterly manner, her eyes twitched.

"Eh?! Why'ttebayo?! Why??" Naruto asked sadly. (A/N: yeah u kno how he always or rather frequently says dattebayo, dattebayo n shit? well sometime he'd even say it 'ttebayo if ya hear it carefully in the anime so yeah...)

"Because! We've been eating ramen everyday, and thanks to you, I've gained some fat!" She retorted.

"But, if you train everyday, won't that fat go away?" Naruto asked innocently.

"Aho… Every time after training we always used to eat more than just a few bowls, remember?! The training sessions aren't enough to burn all that fat!" She practically yelled at Naruto, who sweat dropped.

"Ah uh, yeah… I think you're right… but you know what, Temari? I don't think you're fat at all… I think you're slim and you look great!" he grinned sheepishly yet innocently as well.

"W-wha…??!" Temari blushed at Naruto's compliment, although he was pretty dense about it. She then only muttered "... baka..." softly but Naruto didn't hear it.

"So, where shall we go?" Naruto asked, his stomach growled already.

"Mm, I don't know… wait, why don't we eat at home? I'll cook something for you…" She mentally slapped her mouth and froze.

"Huh? You can cook, Temari? Wow, that's great! I want to try your cooking!" he replied excitedly, oblivious with Temari's reactions.

Upon hearing his reply, Temari brightened and gave Naruto a smile. After another minute of resting, they got up and went back home to the Suna sibling's house.

* * *

In Konoha, a lazy shinobi laid down on a random rooftop. He's been doing the same thing for the past few days now. His mind had been filled with things that happened three days ago. 

_Flashback…_

_Shikamaru and the guys stormed the Haruno residence. They made it easily to Sakura's bedroom. Shikamaru didn't get any trouble 'infiltrating' the house as he made his move right after Sakura's mother went out to get some groceries._

_Shikamaru__ entered first followed by the rest of the boys. The girls inside the room jolted in surprise and some gasped, but sighed in relief after they saw the guys coming in._

"_Shikamaru! What the hell are you doing?! Don't you know manners?" Ino shouted but Shikamaru ignored her, he set his eyes to the pink-haired girl._

"_Neji? What are you doing here? And why is your Byakugan activated?" Tenten asked, pointing a finger at her teammate._

"_Sakura… s__pill it out… What really happened that day?" Shikamaru asked in an orderly tone._

_Sakura's eyes shot wide, she began to tremble violently as she clutched onto her blanket harder. Her lips were shaking nervously but Shikamaru just stood there, waiting for her story. While the girls were protesting for some reason, the boys held them in place._

"_Sakura!" Shikamaru called out loudly enough to make her snap back._

_Sakura shed a tear, she gulped and decided that it was time to tell the truth. She had feared that this day would come, although she also already knew that this day was bound to come._

"_E-everyone… I… I am s-sorry… I've… I've deceived you, all these times… I'm so s-sorry…" she apologized, shaking and trembling as tears made their way down her cheeks._

_Everyone became quiet; most of them were surprised except for Shikamaru who only had a saddened expression painted on his face._

"_I… on t__hat day… I… I've put Naruto in a genjutsu that sealed away his true memories… I've… I've set him up…" her voice was visibly shaking as well as her body. She dared not to look up, too ashamed to herself._

_Shikamaru's expression turned from__ saddened, to serious to disbelief. He hadn't expected that kind of revelation. A sweat fell from his face toward the wooden floor, he could only mutter a word, "… What?"_

_End of Flashback..._

Shikamaru has been feeling uneasy and restless for the past three days, unsure on how to respond and react to this, as well as everyone else.

"_... What should I do? This village has been deceived… if I tell them the truth, she'll break even more… but if I stay quiet, Naruto will… Shit!" _Shikamaru thought and frowned.

He would still be deep in thought if some noises weren't distracting him; he glanced toward the source of those noises and decided to take a look. He peeked down the roof to see a grey-haired, two brown-haired, and a black-haired shinobi. They were talking to each other and from the situation, he could sense the seriousness. He was about to leave them be, but soon changed his mind after one of them mentioned his friend's name.

When he took a closer look, he was surprised to see that they were none other than Kakashi, Yamato and Iruka. Since he couldn't see the fourth person very well, he shifted his position a little bit in order to see the fourth person's face.

"S-Sai?! What's that guy doing with them?"

"… So, that's what really happened…" the grey-haired ninja said, leaning his back against the wall.

"… " a man with a scar across his nose was speechless due to the shock.

"It's the truth. I just realized it a few minutes ago. Never expected her genjutsu to be this strong…" a brown-haired man said.

"Same here… I never detected such a simple yet strong genjutsu and we've been trapped ever since then…" a black-haired boy said.

"… So? Why did you tell us?" the copy ninja asked, looking up at his junior.

"Kakashi-sempai, this is a critical situation for Konoha. If I got away from the genjutsu, that means either she has dispelled it, or the genjutsu itself became weaker every day and it dispelled itself. If she put us all in a genjutsu, including Naruto that means the effect should apply to each of us…" the brown-haired man spoke again more critically.

"W-what do you mean?" the man with a scar across his nose finally spoke.

"Yamato-taichou meant that if the genjutsu put in Naruto was broken, like it did to us, what would his reaction be? He's like a time-bomb, Iruka-san…" the black-haired boy explained.

"Wh-what?! That's impossible! I know Naruto! He's not like that!" Iruka nearly yelled, but Kakashi restrained him to do so.

"… Calm down, Iruka…" Kakashi said as he glanced upward for a split second before turning his attention back to his peers.

"So? You think that Naruto might break if he knew what truly happened?" Kakashi asked.

"Pretty much yes. He had been betrayed by Sasuke, another betrayal by Sakura, whom he had promised to bring Sasuke back, would… most likely cause him to break, I'm sure. You know how he did when he fought Sasuke back then… but, with Sakura? The girl he would least or never expect to betray him? There IS a high possibility that he'd snap and we're not just talking one or two tails, but nine-tails or the Kyuubi itself!" Yamato said with urgency.

"W-what…?! N-no way…" Iruka trembled slightly at the image of Naruto turning into Kyuubi and attacking the village.

"… I understand, but first… Shikamaru, come down already…" Kakashi raised his voice in the middle of his sentence, motioning Shikamaru to come down.

Sai and Yamato also seemed to realize that Shikamaru was up there, only Iruka, who was still trembling didn't notice, he was deep in thought which distracted his concentration and senses.

"Hrm… busted, huh? How troublesome…" Shikamaru said but came down in the end.

"So, I presume you've heard everything?" Kakashi asked, eyeing the lazy Nara.

"… More or less… although I just can't bring myself to one thing…" Shikamaru said.

"What?" Kakashi asked back, having a fair guess of what it would be.

"You said Kyuubi… I thought the nine-tailed demon was killed by Yondaime?" Shikamaru asked Kakashi, who closed his eye for a moment and sighed.

"Shikamaru… in fact, Yondaime didn't kill it, he sealed it…" Kakashi replied, looking away in sorrow.

Shikamaru's eyes widened after he quickly made links with everything. "S-sealed? Th-then that means that…"

"Yes, the Kyuubi is sealed within Naruto…" Yamato continued, Iruka just looked away in sorrow.

"… Now it all makes sense… Why everyone in the village loathed Naruto… His immense strength… His… loneliness and sadness… How much had he endured?!"

"…" Kakashi stayed silent, still looking away.

"…" Iruka looked down, his eyes closed.

"…" Yamato stared at Shikamaru sadly.

"…" Sai just stayed silent, not understanding the mixture of feelings surrounding him (A/N: ey, Sai is still dense about that kinda shit rite? so let him be dense bout it now, or at least for now lol).

* * *

Another minute of silence reined before Kakashi decidedly broke it. He looked at everyone and asked Yamato. 

"So, what are you going to do? I'm going to look for Naruto... heard that he's with Jiraiya-sama, but just to make sure that he doesn't go on a rampage…"

"I'm going to report to Hokage-sama, she might already know but it would be best to report anyway." Yamato said, gulping.

"I'll see the situation with the former rookie 9 and Gai's team…" Sai started but Shikamaru cut him off.

"Wait. I'll do it… I want you to do something for me… I'm not that good with searching top secret information, so I want you to find something for me…"

Sai looked momentarily at Yamato and Kakashi before turning his attention back at the shadow master and nodded, "Very well, what do you want me to look for?"

"Look for the secret scrolls about the Kyuubi and counter-genjutsu arts in the kinjutsu section. I don't know where they put it, but it should be a piece of cake for you, right, ANBU ROOTS…?" Shikamaru said, putting an emphasis on the last two words.

Kakashi and Yamato were surprised to hear that a simple chuunin knew about the ANBU Roots, however, they also knew that they weren't dealing with just any simple chuunin. They're dealing with Shikamaru, the most intelligent and knowledgeable shinobi in his generation. Kakashi smiled and said, "Let's roll then?"

* * *

**A/N:** K there ya go, n as usual, R&R aite! sorry if it seems shorter than last chapter but 'fraid not, later chapters r goin' ta be longer, promise! then I'd also appreciate if y'all wish me good luck with shits I'm goin' thru rite now, k? thx a bunch y'all! oh yeah, before i'mma outtie, i decided to start on puttin another fic, it's so OOC so i suggest to Mr. Lee to not read it lol just messin hahaha.. anyway, here's a preview, be sure to check it out k? peace out! oh but first, of course, the translation n then the preview, now really i'm outtie, holla! 

**Japanese 101** (credits go all the way to Mr.Lee for always, always reminding me politely about translating stuffs lol):

-**Jinchuuriki: **demon beasts' vessel/container, ya know, like Naruto, he a jinchuuriki ya mean?

-**Akatsuki: **well literally aka means red and tsuki means moon, so akatsuki means red moon, ya mean? tho I'm not sure why they'd use red clouds on their cloaks, well maybe tsuki can mean clouds too i'm not sure, but hey, juz search wiki if ya interested...

-**Otogakure n Konohagakure: **sound village n leaf village or was it hidden sound and hidden leaf? mm, kinda confused lol...

- **-sama: **a suffix denoting the highest form of respect toward someone or something...

-**Mou: **an expression used when you're annoyed or shit, like when someone forgot something which bugged ya, n u'd say haaa shit! or s'thing hahaha...

-**Ne: **again another expression that's used to enforce wat ya sayin', equivalent to the expression 'right?' like 'ya understand what i'm sayin', right?'

-**Aho: **ahobakastupididiot, so if you're good in math and logic, then u shud dig this message rite? lol

**-Ramen: **noodle, c'mon, it's gotta be one of the many foods ya gotta try at least once in yo lifetime homey! WORD!

- **Konoha and Oto: **leaf and sound

-**Shinobi**: shinobininja

-**Genjutsu: **illusion technique

-**Sempai: **senior

-**Taichou: **captain

- **-san: **a suffix used to show respect to someone

- **Kinjutsu: **forbidden techniques.

**Puberty is da shit... wait, maybe not...**

As Tenten dragged Naruto to her house, he could only sweat drop. _"Uuuh… Why do I have the feeling that it's going to be something REALLY bad? Oh God…"_

"Okay, here we are… Naruto, could you wait for me? I've got some things to do first; you can sit on the couch over there… Just help yourself, alright?" Tenten winked at him before disappearing behind the hallway. 

Naruto nodded timidly and took a good look at his surroundings. There are many weapons decorating the house, _"Hmm, as expected from Tenten… Weapons all over…" _he shook his thought and sat on the couch only to realize something strange.

Unfortunately he couldn't quite place it, so he just shrugged and waited for Tenten's presence, but at the same time Tenten was taking a quick shower without Naruto knowing. She smirked at the train of thoughts inside her head, with Naruto being unaware to them all.

She finished taking a shower and put on some fresh 'clothes', a very, very sexy one to say the least. Naruto was still unaware of what's coming at him, until Tenten got out of her room and Naruto noticed the owner of the house's existence. Instead of expecting something normal, Naruto's jaw dropped to the floor at the sight of Tenten in her underwear, correction: _Sexy underwear_.

Naruto's eyes went wide, he blushed like mad and he was speechless. _"W-wha-what-wawawawa…WHAT THE HELL?! Am I seeing things?! Oh God, please tell me I'm dreaming!"_

Naruto's eyes unconsciously trailed down Tenten's body, starting from her still half-wet hair to her face that was slightly pink, to her firm breasts that were covered in white yet quite (read: very) revealing bra, to her trained (read: sexy) stomach, to her white garner belt, to her once again quite (read: very) revealing white panties, and to her equally white pantyhose no less, then he finally reached his limits. A stream of blood spurted from his nose as he fell backward.


	6. Chapter 6: On The Move!

A/N: ok well, not much to tell apart it's goin' to be full-packed action from this chapter onward,, and oh yeah, this fic's gotta be my most successful n satisfying fic to date, over 7000 hits' quite something for an amateur like me, tho sure, not all the ppl might really read it past chap 1 or just clicked on or s'thang, but i wanna thank y'all who added this as ur story alert, fav, etc. as well as those who reviewed,, never thanked y'all like this before so i just wanna take this opportunity to do so... then last thing, i'm goin' ta b busy wit college again,, sigh... well apart from that, enjoy this freshly baked fic! holla

**Disclaimer: I own noth'n but this story, don't sue me for copyright, ay!**

* * *

_**Chapter VI- On The Move!**_

Akatsuki was gathering at the border between Fire Country and Wind Country. A gush of wind blew past them, waving their cloaks away. Pain, their leader, stood on a small sand dune while his comrades just stood behind him, patiently waiting for him to debrief them.

"All of you wait here… I'm going to bring Naruto with me in a second…" Pain vanished the second he finished.

Deidara sighed effortlessly while the rest just sat down, doing whatever they were doing. Itachi still stood as he emotionlessly stared toward Sunagakure, his partner Kisame noticed and gave him a friendly slap on the back.

"What's wrong? You look weary, not like your usual self" the shark-man grinned, showing his sharp teeth in the process.

Itachi didn't answer but patted Kisame on the shoulder, signaling that he's fine. Kisame understood and went about his way, leaving the Sharingan master alone once again. He noticed the girl who was always with Pain staring at the same direction. Itachi considered asking her the same question Kisame did, but decided not to. Konan however, noticed as well and asked Itachi unfalteringly.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing" he muttered, closing his eyes.

"… Are you worried about your little brother's friend?" she asked again, peeking from the corner of her eyes at Itachi.

"Not the least" he replied coldly, opening his eyes.

"… I see…"

Any form of verbal conversation then died, the Akatsuki stayed silent until their leader comes back with the last Jinchuuriki in his hand.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun, how are we going to kidnap this Naruto kid?" Karin asked, hopping on a tree branch.

"The same way the Sound Four convinced me to come with them… through the Hokage Mountain. The security over there is very loose…" Sasuke replied emotionlessly, hopping to another tree branch.

"Sasuke, when can we rest? I'm tired… and thirsty…" Suigetsu whined and was about to get yelled at by Karin, but Sasuke stopped her before she could do it.

"Soon Suigetsu, we're going to rest when we reach that place…" Sasuke said as he reminisced about the past.

"That place?" Jyuugo asked, hopping to another tree branch.

"… Valley of the End" Sasuke replied, his Sharingan activated for no apparent reason.

* * *

"Well then, I'll be on my way… if anything happens here, inform me immediately, Iruka" a silver-haired man said.

"I understand, please be careful on your way, Kakashi-san. Somehow I have a bad feeling about this…" Iruka said darkly, but Kakashi just smiled softly under his mask. Kakashi gave Iruka a thumb up then he turned around and ran toward the horizon, to Sunagakure.

Iruka turned around, but his eyes were still set upon Kakashi's shadow. He turned his face around for the last time and walked back inside the village, heading toward the Academy. _"… I hope everything will be just fine…"_

* * *

Jiraiya was on his way to Otogakure after he heard about his former teammate's death; he rushed to find the truth and to see it himself. Since he met with his spy at the border between Earth Country and Rice Country, he could get there in no time.

"I must hurry…" Jiraiya panted as he ran as fast as he could.

* * *

Just as Hebi arrived at the Valley of the End, Suigetsu quickly dove into the stream while Karin and Jyuugo just sat down on a rock nearby and drank. Sasuke walked to the edge of the stream which was actually in the form of a sculpted head. He looked ahead and then down to the waterfall.

He noticed that there was no sign of battle at the foot of the waterfall; he thought someone must have repaired the damage seeing that the foot of the statues was intact. He reminisced for a minute before looking back ahead. He stared at the statue in front of him and saw some sort of illusion of his blond friend's silhouette. His eyes saddened but it regained its usual cold gaze.

"Karin, Suigetsu, Jyuugo! We're leaving in 10 minutes, get yourself ready…" he said with his back facing them.

"W-what?! Hey! For your information we've been running non-stop from that freaking smelly place, okay? Can't you at least let us have some more rest, damn it!? Who do you think we are? The freakin' Kages?" Suigetsu protested but the moment Sasuke released his killing intent, Suigetsu stayed silent and just cursed under his breath.

Karin and Jyuugo never really complained about being ordered around and decided to just obey. They packed up their things and refilled their water-skin. Ten minutes later, they were on the move yet once again, leaping from trees to trees, heading toward Konoha.

Coincidentally enough, the safest and quickest way to get to the Hokage Mountain was by taking a shortcut path near the border between Wind Country and Fire Country. Unknown to them however, was that a dangerous group was waiting nearby and a certain Konoha shinobi was heading there as well.

Soon, they will meet head-on.

* * *

Back in Konoha, Yamato just finished reporting to Tsunade. Although he had predicted that she might have already known, it still surprised him how calm she reacted to it. He started to debate on of how far and how much she knew.

Yamato stayed silent while Tsunade was in her usual thinking position with both her hands folded in front of her. Yamato didn't notice at first but after taking a better look, he realized that Tsunade's face was pale and she was also wearing a necklace. He immediately recognized it as Shodaime Hokage's. He was about to ask about it but Tsunade spoke first.

"Thanks for your report, Tenzou. I release you from your current mission. Report back to your squad and wait for my orders. Stay on stand-by. Also on your way, tell Morino Ibiki to report in my office as soon as he can." Tsunade ordered Yamato, who was more surprised to have his real name mentioned.

"Understood Hokage-sama…" Yamato excused himself and vanished into thin air.

Outside Tsunade's office, he sighed, unsure on how to react. Then Shizune appeared with a stack of paperwork, she noticed Yamato standing blocking the door.

"_Ano_… excuse me, but could you move aside, please? I need to get in…" she asked politely at Yamato, who jumped in surprise and quickly stepped aside.

"E-excuse me! I was thinking about something…" he explained trying to find an excuse, flailing his hands and flushed in the process.

Shizune looked at him and giggled, causing Yamato to blush even harder as he just rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, thinking he just made a fool out of himself.

"… Ah I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you… you're… Tenzou, right?" she asked, while at the same time trying to suppress her giggles.

"Huh? Ah, y-yes, I am…" Yamato replied as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I believe we haven't introduced each other properly. I'm Shizune, nice to meet you…" she said smilingly at Yamato who turned crimson.

"… L-likewise. I'm Tenzou…" he replied, bowing down.

"Hihi, it's a bit weird… we've known each other through files and missions but it's the first time we've talked and introduced ourselves properly… it feels a bit weird, don't you think?" she asked, smiling at him (with that damn-oh-so-cute-smile. I know, we need some humor to lighten up the mood a lil' bit, don't you think?).

"Y-yeah… it does, doesn't it? Ha… hahaha…" Yamato replied awkwardly.

"Yes. Oh! I almost forgot… I'm sorry, but I've got to give these to Tsunade-sama… well then Tenzou-san, I guess I'll be seeing you from now on, ne?" she said once more before heading to Tsunade's office.

"Y-yeah… oh, here, let me open the door for y-…" Yamato said but the door got opened before he even grabbed the door knob. "Areh?"

Tsunade appeared behind the opened door, looking rather pissed at Yamato. He had a dumb look on his face and started to sweat hard as it immediately struck him that he was supposed to tell Ibiki to report to Tsunade as soon as possible.

"A-ah, Shizune-san! It's been a pleasure knowing you, I need to go now. Bye! See you!" Yamato said hastily and dashed away for his life, leaving a still pissed Tsunade and an oblivious Shizune.

"He really is an interesting guy…" Shizune said smilingly as she entered Tsunade's office.

After she put the paperwork on the desk, she turned around to see her mentor. At first she smiled innocently but soon realized something different. She had an all-too-similar necklace tied around her neck. Shizune blinked at Tsunade and was about to ask when her mentor explained everything.

* * *

In another part of Konoha, Sai was rummaging through the secret scrolls of the village's kinjutsu archives.

"Hmm, this is weird… I can't find them anywhere… this archive should be at least half-filled with those scrolls…" Sai muttered as he stealthily moved from one spot to another.

The archive was dark and many seals and traps were placed in order to keep it safe from intruders. Sai however, could easily detect the traps and avoid them. When he finally arrived at the end of the archives, he began to think whether they have been moved to another place or if there are some secret entries.

When he was about to move out once more, he was suddenly stopped by his former master, Danzou. He was standing behind Sai all the time fully equipped with his shinobi attire, and Sai never even noticed.

"D-Danzou-sama?! Why are you here?!" he gasped in disbelief.

"You really are rebellious just like your useless brother… I shouldn't have put my trust in you, _Sai_" Danzou said as he raised his hand and formed a single-hand seal.

Sai's vision suddenly became blurred as it slowly turned dark and his entire body became numb. The next thing he knew, he was on the floor, feeling numb. Then the last thing he saw before he passed out was the silhouette of his former mentor.

* * *

Jiraiya just arrived at what was supposed to be Otogakure. Instead of a well concealed underground base, he found a devastated ground. It was as if the entire base got blown up by a very strong explosion.

Bodies were everywhere, most of them burnt beyond recognition. Then he noticed something in the middle of the wide devastated hole. It was in the form of a huge silvery snake. It was lying lifeless on the ground.

When Jiraiya got there, he quickly noticed that it was none other than Orochimaru. He covered his mouth in disbelief at the remains of his former teammate. Suddenly something moved nearby and Jiraiya quickly reacted to it.

"No need to get all offensive, Jiraiya-sama…" a voice said calmly behind the big silver snake.

Jiraiya stayed alert as the owner of the voice slowly made an apparition. It was Kabuto.

"You…"

"Yes... as you can see, Orochimaru-sama is dead now… but the question is, do you really believe that?" he smirked at Jiraiya who raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"What do you mean? Explain yourself!" Jiraiya demanded in a threatening voice.

"I'll just show you so it can save us the trouble, hm?" Kabuto said, removing his glasses and looked at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya became even more surprised as he saw Orochimaru in Kabuto's left eye. If it's only a genjutsu, he'd know, however Orochimaru's presence was so strong within Kabuto's left eye; he even felt that Kabuto's eye was another living entity entirely. From that, he deduced one thing.

"So that's how it was. You took Kabuto's body since you couldn't take Sasuke's, am I wrong, Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked, easing his stance.

"Not entirely, no. You see Jiraiya-sama, you can feel his presence so strongly, yet it's not him. No… I took the liberty to put him inside my body when that bastard Uchiha took over his conscience. Fortunately enough, there was some conscience left inside his true form, not wasting any time, I put him inside my body… Orochimaru-sama lives within me now…" Kabuto explained as he laughed like a madman.

"… In the end Sasuke never really planned on giving his body after all… so? Where is he now?" Jiraiya asked Kabuto, who stopped laughing abruptly.

"That Uchiha bastard? Hn… since we share a conscience of the same person, I am somehow able to read his mind… he's on his way to capture that Kyuubi kid… he should be arriving near Konoha by now… hope he gets killed alongside those traitors by Naruto-kun…" Kabuto scoffed and turned around.

"… And? Where do you think you're going?"

"I don't know, probably to our other hide-outs… either way you won't catch me, and we both know it…" Kabuto replied cockily without even facing Jiraiya.

"Says who?" Jiraiya asked as he formed a couple of hand seals and was about to perform a ninjutsu.

"Says me!" Kabuto smirked darkly as he jumped forward to keep his distance from Jiraiya's ninjutsu.

"_**Katon: Gokakkyu no Jutsu!**_" Jiraiya yelled and a big fireball made its way toward Kabuto, who just snickered.

* * *

Shikamaru had gathered the others; namely Ino, Chouji, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Kiba and Shino. He had also predicted their reactions when he gathered them together. Most of them had a sinister and sorrowful looks, none had the courage to speak up, excluding Neji and Shino who are Neji and Shino (I mean come on, they only speak as if they're paid to).

"Alright, listen up. I know how you all feel right now, and I feel the same. But we need to act now or it might be too late…" Shikamaru broke the silence, earning everyone's attention.

"What do you mean, Shikamaru-kun?" Lee decided to ask.

"The problem right now isn't Sakura, but Naruto. How many of you know about Kyuubi?" Shikamaru asked, narrowing his eyes a little.

"The nine-tailed demon beast? Of course we all know… what about it?" Ino spoke up, her ponytail swung to one side.

"Of course you do, but how many of you know the _real_ story of Kyuubi?" Shikamaru emphasized on the word 'real', earning Neji's full attention.

"… Are you suggesting that the one which said that the Kyuubi was killed by Yondaime is a made up story?" Neji suggested. Everyone looked at him as if he had just committed blasphemy.

"Exactly" Shikamaru nodded in accordance.

Everyone spoke up at the same time, protesting and arguing against each other. Shikamaru silenced them with his Shadow Binding technique and once they realized they stopped their arguments.

"So what does your version says, Shikamaru?" Ino asked skeptically

"No… rather, what is the _relevance_ with Naruto? You did mention something about being too late and that the main problem we're facing now is him…" Neji asked theoretically.

Shikamaru smirked and looked at Neji with a pleased face, "Sharp as always, Neji… I knew you'd have at least an idea of where I'm going…"

Neji just huffed silently and crossed his arms.

"That's right. To make a long story short, the Kyuubi is inside Naruto." Shikamaru said as-a-matter-of-factly. Everyone gasped and froze on the spot; their face showed pure surprise to say the least.

"Sh-Shikamaru, I know you're a funny guy, but this joke has gone too f-…" Chouji spoke first, breaking the swift silence, but Shikamaru cut him off.

"It's not a joke, Chouji. It's the truth." Shikamaru exclaimed, causing the other to stare at him in disbelief and horror.

"Yondaime didn't kill the nine-tailed demon, he sealed it inside Naruto. But that's the truth that even our parents knew, yet because of Sandaime's law, we were exempted from knowing it. However, now that is not the problem. You already know that Naruto was put in a genjutsu by Sakura; coincidentally the genjutsu itself is getting weaker and weaker by the minute. If Naruto regained his memory of what happened that day…" Shikamaru explained and Neji continued his sentence.

"… There is a high possibility that he might unleash the Kyuubi and go on a rampage…" Neji finished and everyone turned their stares from Shikamaru to him.

"Wh-what?! Why?! Why would he…?!" Ino asked erratically.

"Think about it, Ino… if you were in his shoes, what would you do?" Shikamaru asked hypothetically at Ino, who was confused.

"… If it was me, I'd unleash Kyuubi and go on a rampage…" Shino's statement astonished everyone but Shikamaru and Neji who seemed to understand the situation.

Then one by one they too, started to understand the situation. Ino who was still confused looked around and asked again, "Why? Why would he? He's not that type of a person… is he?"

"Ino, who do you think are Naruto's most precious people?" Shikamaru asked her with a saddened expression.

"Eh? I-I don't know… Sasuke and Sakura I gue-…" Ino replied and suddenly covered her mouth as if realizing something.

"Exactly. Sasuke and Sakura. He was betrayed by Sasuke once, hell, make it twice. He had let Sakura down once, hell, make it twice too. If he knew that he's been set up by one of his precious people after he'd been betrayed, how would he feels? Also not to mention all the hardships he's experienced up till now!"

Ino stumbled to the ground while the others were deep in their own thoughts. Shikamaru spoke again, snapping them out of their thoughts.

"Everyone… this is a critical situation for us right now. Screw the upper ups, we're on our own. Right now Kakashi-sensei is on his way to Sunagakure to check on Naruto who is currently in training with Jiraiya-sama. Yamato-taichou is reporting to Tsunade-sama, although I'm not sure what will happen. What I'm sure is that Tsunade-sama herself should already be aware about this matter even before we did, I'm sure…"

"How could you be so sure?" Tenten asked abruptly. Shikamaru looked at her and replied simply, "… because I think that Sakura must have told Tsunade-sama before we even know it, why? Because Tsunade-sama is Sakura's mentor… Sakura could open up to her respected teacher and to top it up, she's also the Hokage…"

Everyone's full attention was now on Shikamaru.

"Now the problem is… how will Tsunade-sama react? We need to act accordingly, that is if we are not called in by her… Because it regards Naruto and Sakura's well-being, I am mostly positive that she might be bringing in the ANBU, it regards the Kyuubi anyway so we might be a hindrance rather than being helpful… Next, I already asked Sai for a favor and he should be contacting me anytime soon, he'll be fine by himself… I think… Last, I want us to keep an eye on Sakura. I don't know why, I just have a bad feeling… true, if Tsunade-sama ordered the ANBU to take Sakura into their custody, she might be safer than being in the open with us, but that would just mean insecurities for Sakura. If that were to happen, then I won't let her be taken away easily…"

"So are you telling us to go against our own?" Tenten asked in hesitation.

"If necessary, yes. Somehow I have the feeling that Tsunade-sama will take Sakura into ANBU's custody, it is of course one of the many scenarios that I could think of, but it seems to be the most plausible one. Of course we won't attack them or anything… a little sabotage or traps here and there should be enough to hold them off for a bit. At least until I can get what I asked Sai to bring me for…"

"Why don't you consult with Godaime-sama?" Kiba asked.

"I told you already, screw those upper ups… they haven't done jack shit about it, they won't do anything this time either… we're on our own, Kiba… although I am planning on going to Tsunade-sama myself after this and have Sakura stay with us, because we might be able to hold Naruto off, assuming he went berserk with Kyuubi and attack Konoha. But then again, I don't expect to get a good outcome…"

"So what are we going to do now?" Neji asked tentatively.

Shikamaru stared at Neji for a while before laying down his 'self-declared kick-ass' plan.

* * *

"You called for me, Hokage-sama?" a scarred man bowed before Tsunade, who silently nodded.

"Ibiki, you are now in charge of the entire ANBU force. Here is your first mission." Tsunade said cutting to the chase as she gave him a piece of paper.

The man called Ibiki took the paper and read it through. He was confused at first and decided to read through it one more time.

"Hokage-sama, this must be a mistake… I can't possibly…" Ibiki protested but Tsunade cut him off.

"Ibiki, this is an order. No more argument. You are dismissed."

A sweat crawled down Ibiki's cheek as he reluctantly accepted his new mission and position and then bowed in respect before disappearing from Tsunade's office.

Outside her office, Ibiki stood with his attention fully on the piece of paper in front of him. He was still feeling uneasy about his new task, when a certain purple-haired kunoichi appeared from around the corner.

"Ibiki? Whatcha doing here?"

Ibiki turned to look at her abruptly he almost dropped the paper. "Anko…"

"What's up?" she asked casually.

Ibiki gained his composure and talked to her casually as well. "Nothing much… I just got promoted to be the ANBU captain…"

Anko became fascinated for a bit and congratulated him, "Really? Wow, congratulations then! What do you say we celebrate this at our usual place, huh? Your treat of course."

"… I'm sorry but I already have a mission… maybe next time, okay?" He said and walked off, leaving a pouting Anko behind.

"_Mou_, and here I was in the mood to drink… Godaime Hokage sure knows how to slave her subordinates off… oh well… I'll just drink by myself then" she said and walked off.

* * *

The quartet from Hebi was still hopping from trees to trees; they doubled their pace after they stopped at the Valley of the End. Karin, having the ability to tell chakra signatures really well, noticed someone's coming their way and notified Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, someone's coming toward us. This person seems strong too. What should we do?"

Sasuke seemed indifferent about it and replied, "Keep going, leave that man to me."

Sasuke quickly made a set of hand seals and readied his left arm. His chakra became visible as it's starting to take an abstract form in his left palm; lightning struck around it also made a lot of noise.

* * *

The copycat ninja was hopping from trees to trees cautiously. He soon noticed that a group of people were coming at his direction. He sensed the dangerous chakra signature coming from it and he thought it would be too late to avoid encounter, thus he made the decision to just storm ahead seeing that his initial plan matters most at the moment.

Kakashi quickly formed a set of hand seals before stretching his left arm. A piercing noise filled the air as a blue lightning seemed to be formed abstractly around his left hand.

"I'll just finish this quickly…" he muttered as he doubled his pace toward the people ahead of him.

* * *

Sasuke readied his left arm as to increase his thrust when he'd meet with his would-be enemy. His comrades were following closely behind him, readying themselves for an upcoming battle .

* * *

Kakashi readied his left arm in a thrust position; his right hand lifted his forehead protector to reveal his sharingan ready.

* * *

Sasuke's cursed seal was starting to spread as his sharingan was glaring coldly at the sight in front of him.

* * *

A huge tree was blocking Kakashi's view but he was positive that his enemies were all behind it, he quickly created some Kage Bunshins. Kakashi and his clones quickly dispersed and attacked head on.

* * *

A huge tree was blocking Sasuke and his comrades' view but they knew that their enemy was behind it. Sasuke rushed head on, ready to break the tree in two when he suddenly saw three people moving in an attacking formation from behind the tree. He ignored them as Karin, Jyuugo, and Suigetsu quickly reacted to them.

* * *

Kakashi thrust his left arm into the huge tree.

* * *

Sasuke thrust his left arm into the huge tree.

* * *

A poor huge tree suddenly broke into pieces, sending splinters flying around.

The moment said huge tree broke three pairs of red eyes with black dots met. Kakashi and Sasuke met face to face after so long.

Sasuke stared at his former teacher with his cold gaze, clearly showing no more sign of affection toward him. Kakashi in the other hand was utterly speechless. He had not expecting to meet his other former student of all the time and places; Kakashi could only mutter one word as he looked into a pair of red, cold eyes.

"S-Sasuke…"

* * *

A/N: so there ya go, hope ya enjoyed it and yeah, till next chapters ppl! holla oh btw, if there's some japanese expressions that u dun dig, go google it or wiki it, apart from that, i assume that y'all already know most of them.. so this time for real, holla 


	7. Chapter 7: The Tension

**A/N: **okay, so as usual, wanna say thanks to y'all who've been readin' this and big thanks to y'all who've added this as their fav, alert, reviewed etc. etc… next, I'm just happy to see that this got over 10,000 hits, tho sure, most might be those that got intrigued at first but then decided not to continue but I'm happy anyway… hey, it means big for an amateur like me, so yeah…

Right-o, next I wanna say a big big thanks for Morcalivan7 who's been kind enough to point out all da confusing and off shits offa this imperfect fic, my only defense: I'm an amateur, n this fic is on a whole other timeline than the manga, just the start which was from after team Kakashi met with Sasuke in Shippuuden was only supposed to put you where to begin n then it's a whole different plot from here on out… then if there's some misplaced fact such as the borders between countries, I'm sorry, I didn't do a thorough research… my bad… just put up wit it for now since it's already this far anyway… so yeah… sorry yeah!

Also last thang, I'm sure many, if not all, of you wonder what happened with Sakura well, I'm sorry, I've got to let you wait for another at least 2-3 chapters, then I'mma dedicate a whole chapter explaining everything, happy? Hahaha… so without further ado, enjoy a freshly edited chapter 7, a whole lotta shit's goin' on here mayn, fasten yo seatbelts! Lol…

**Disclaimer:** y'all know da drill, I ain't owning any Naruto shits, and if there are any similarities with other works, it's just pure coincidence, I'd never ever steal other's idea without at least referencing it to them, WORD!

* * *

_**Chapter VII- The Tension**_

"S-Sasuke…" the copy ninja said, a sweat crawled near his right eye.

Sasuke didn't say anything apart what seemed to be a scoff and a mutter, "Tch, Kakashi…"

The two shinobi jumped back to avoid contact with each other and to reorganize their strategy. Kakashi's clones were already dispelled by Hebi who stood behind Sasuke, waiting on stand-by.

Karin then asked the Uchiha avenger, "What do we do, Sasuke-kun?"

"Nothing, just stand back and let me handle this. It shouldn't take too long…" Sasuke replied coolly. Kakashi scoffed for being underestimated by his former student but he left it at just that.

Seeing how Sasuke hasn't made his move yet, Kakashi decided to buy some time by gaining some information, "What a surprise… I didn't expect to meet you here out of so many other places, Sasuke-kun… may I ask your intentions?"

"Hn… it is none of your concern, Kakashi-sensei… prepare yourself" Sasuke glared at Kakashi, his stare became colder as their eyes met each other's.

"That's not a very nice thing to say, now is it?" Kakashi replied casually as he took his battle stance but stayed still before continuing. Kakashi thought for a moment and decided to ask again, "Are you… looking for Naruto?" Kakashi wanted to ask if Sasuke's looking for Itachi at first, but decided to ask the least possible question as Sasuke looking for his older brother was already a well-known fact that needs not to be asked.

Sasuke reacted slightly from Kakashi's assumption and smirked, "How in the world could you always come up with what your opponents think? I guess you're not called copy ninja for nothing…"

"Well one thing for another, looks like my guess is correct… unfortunately I won't let you do that, Sasuke-kun. However, seeing that I'm in a hurry, I might let you go… I don't have time to deal with you right now…" Kakashi replied with a serious tone which made Sasuke twitch in anger.

Sasuke gritted his teeth after what Kakashi said, "Don't underestimate me, sensei… if you don't have time for us, then move…" Sasuke glared dangerously at Kakashi who remained calm.

"Well actually, I can't do that… work reasons… and as a matter of fact, _you _are in my way… I suggest you turn back and start running away like you always do, Sasuke…" Sasuke immediately snapped and stormed at his former teacher with impatience and hatred.

Kakashi could dodge Sasuke's attack easily and tried to land a kick but the black-haired deserter seemed to have already predicted that and blocked Kakashi's kick in time.

Sasuke took out his Kusanagi sword and thrust it toward Kakashi's neck. Kakashi managed to duck and tackled Sasuke, who moved away swiftly before the tackle reached him and then he swung his sword again. Kakashi evaded it once again and this time he decided to step back.

Once he was outside the sword's perimeter, Kakashi took a handful of shurikens and two kunais. He threw the shurikens and performed a hand seal, his mouth biting on one of the two kunai while he held the other one.

"**Shuriken: Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" the handful shurikens suddenly multiplied as they headed toward Sasuke. The Uchiha avenger raised his sword and deflected all the shurikens swiftly without breaking a sweat. (A/N: Shuriken: Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu-basically means mass shadow replication shuriken technique or something along the line…)

After he deflected the last one, he focused back to where Kakashi stood only to find him missing. Sasuke looked around to find the grey-haired jonin only to notice something coming at him and then jumped backward as two kunais with explosive tags on it dangerously hit where Sasuke was and blew the tree branch to pieces, sending debris everywhere.

Sasuke and Kakashi landed on another tree branches and stared at each other, trying to read each other's mind. As Kakashi panted slightly, he began to think, "_Damn, this is going to be a long one…_"

* * *

Somewhere near the remnants of Otogakure, a sudden and huge explosion soared to the clear sky. The forest around the explosion burnt in a flash as two figures leapt through it, as the explosion's smoke dissipated, the two figures maintained their distance against each other.

A white haired old man panted slightly but stayed alert at the same time, "_Damn, he's been dodging my attacks all the time… if this keeps on going on, I'll definitely lose…_"

His opponent grinned and slipped his tongue out mockingly at him, "What's the matter, _Great _Jiraiya-sama? Can't keep up?"

Jiraiya snapped at his opponent's remark and performed another seals, he bit his thumb and performed the summoning seal, "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**" a mid-size toad appeared out of nowhere and Jiraiya stood on its head.

"Watch your mouth, boy. I am not called one of the legendary Sannin for nothing!"

"Hmph… well let's see you try, oh great legendary Sannin…" Kabuto sneered mockingly as he moved out once again to avoid Jiraiya's attacks.

* * *

In Konoha, the situation became rapidly tense. The streets and rooftops were filled with masked people, ANBU. The villagers were starting to wonder if something had happened, it's not everyday you see the entire ANBU force to come out in the middle of the day.

"There's nothing to worry about, this is a simple simulation. Go about your business…" one of the ANBU captain said dismissively at a resident who was staring questioningly at him.

The villagers reluctantly went about their business although the atmosphere was very tense, some decided to go home and lock themselves in until the ANBU disappeared from sight.

"Ibiki-taichou. The Tokubetsu ANBU are ready, they are waiting for your orders, sir" A coated ANBU reported on top of the Hokage Tower.

Ibiki turned slightly and nodded, "I'll be right there" he replied and stared forward, to the scenery. He sighed and put his mask on. It was slightly different than the usual ANBU mask. Instead of an animal, it was plain white with a small symbol on its forehead, which looked the same as the tattoo that every ANBU has on their left arm, "Guess there's really no choice…" and he went down.

In front of the Hokage Tower, an ANBU squad was standing tirelessly, awaiting their new leader to brief them. They all wore the standard ANBU attire with two katanas and an addition of two small katanas or wakizashi. The wakizashis were strapped on their waist and the other two strapped on their back. Aside from the additional two katanas, this squad had two distinct features which differentiate them with normal ANBU, there were their mask and protectors. (Katana: Japanese sword, wakizashi: short sword)

Their mask was similar to that of Ibiki's but they have a black and white side in a Ying Yang form, the black on the right and the white on the left. Their protectors were also a tad different, instead of a simple pale grey color; it was fully black with a small white symbol on it. Each person's symbols differ with another; there are symbols that showed the Hyuuga clan's the Aburame clan's and even the Nara clan.

In total there were 20 people, most of them having the Hyuuga clan's symbol on their protectors. After another minute, Ibiki appeared before them.

"I am Morino Ibiki, your new captain. I will not waste time in unnecessary introductions. Here is your first mission: Secure Hyuuga Hinata. Proceed as discreet as possible, and then bring her here. Your time limit is until dusk. Dismiss!"

"Ha!" the 20 special ANBU replied in unison before they dispersed.

Ibiki stood there, staring at his men and muttered, "I hope you'll forgive me for this, Hiashi…"

* * *

Back in the forest with the sharingan users, Kakashi and Sasuke had fought for well over an hour. Kakashi's breathing had become very hard and sweat was covering his face, his breathes could be slightly seen through his mask as he breathed out.

Sasuke on the other hand was barely sweating; his sword was sheathed. He eyed his former mentor coldly with pity, barely shown mercy nor sympathy, "Hn… is this what the copy ninja Kakashi worth? I'm disappointed…"

Kakashi didn't reply, he was still trying to catch his breath back. Kakashi wasn't wounded, but he had been forced to use his sharingan more than what he could handle. As Sasuke stared at him, Kakashi took his time to recover his strength by closing his sharingan eye and stayed alert with his normal eye.

"Yeah well, sorry for ageing…" Kakashi sneered jokingly.

"I'll tell you one last time, sensei… move out of my way or I'll kill you" Sasuke stated seriously.

Kakashi stared at Sasuke for a moment before replying with a hidden smirk, "Hm, make me, brat"

Sasuke's eyes widened in anger and a huge killing intent was instantly released into the atmosphere. It all happened too fast, a few seconds after the released killing intent; Sasuke disappeared from Kakashi's sight and reappeared behind him with an empty hand aiming to his heart.

Kakashi immediately looked behind him but it was too late. Sasuke's chakra manipulation technique was faster as it went through Kakashi's heart.

Blood was spurting in the air in a slow motion.

* * *

Inside the Hyuuga compound, the Hyuuga heiress had been locking herself in her room ever since Sakura's confession. She had been crying for days, blaming herself for being slow, heartless, insensitive, and stupid.

Her father, Hyuuga Hiashi had been worrying for his precious daughter and demanded for an explanation. However when nothing came, Hiashi stopped trying and decided to let his daughter alone for the time being, hoping she'll come to her own senses very soon.

Hyuuga Hinata was a mess. Crumpled tissues were all over the place, rustled sheet and pillow stained by tears. Hinata curled up on her futon bed and cried silently some more. (A/N: futon is a Japanese-style bed)

"Snif… Na-Naruto-kun… I'm so sorry…" she croaked between sobs.

She would have kept on muttering to herself if her little sister hadn't knocked on her door. After a few knocks, Hanabi let herself in. Her face showed worry.

"Ane-hue… can't you talk to me?" she asked almost pleading. (A/N: ane-hue is equivalent with onee-sama which means big sister in a higher form of respect)

"Hanabi-chan… I'm sorry, but I can't… I'm sorry for worrying you…" Hinata replied with a smile as she sat up on her futon.

"… Are you sure?" Hanabi asked again, she knew that something must be done to return her sister's smile once again.

Hinata nodded once and gave a fake smile at Hanabi, who frowned at her big sister's reaction. She stayed silent, hesitating on either dropping the subject or keep on asking her till she gives up. Hanabi decided to let it go.

She looked at her big sister once again and gave a sad smile in return, "… okay then… if you need anything, call me okay? I'll be in my room…" Hanabi said as she approached the door and closed them after Hinata nodded.

Hinata's room was silent once again, although she couldn't see, but Hinata was sure that Hanabi was still standing in front of her room. She stared at her bedroom's door and muttered, _"…I'm sorry, Hanabi-chan…"_

Hanabi who was still standing in front of her sister's room, sighed as she looked up toward the cloudy grey sky. She closed her eyes for a few moments before heading off to her room, without knowing the strange and discreet movements creeping from behind the shadows.

"_Taichou, we're in position"_ someone whispered from behind a big tree.

"_Proceed as planned" _another person whispered commandingly, receiving replies with a quick whisper from many other people.

* * *

In Sunagakure, the tension was rather calm and relaxed, unlike in Konoha. Temari and Naruto were still hanging out together, they've even gotten closer everyday. They train together, eat together, and walk together. If you hadn't known them better you'd think they were a couple.

"Mmn… the breeze feels so good in here…" Naruto said as he stretched his arms and felt the breeze blowing through his face.

"Mn, yeah… it feels like it's been so long since I last felt such a good breeze…" Temari added, feeling her hand stroking through her loose shining and silky blonde hair.

They were once again on top of the sand dune which was one of Temari's favorite spots, they had been training in the morning, eating at noon, talking and walking around during the afternoon, and now their last activity of the day, relaxing on top of a sand dune.

The setting sun shined both Temari and Naruto's already shining blond hair, the gentle breeze still gently blew. They both stayed silent as they enjoyed watching the setting sun in Suna. Temari however, was about to be lost in thoughts unknowingly and meet with a certain fox demon.

She closed her eyes in a second and the red Suna scenery that she was looking at suddenly changed into an endless dark dimension the moment she opened her eyes again. She hastily stood up and looked around; her expression showing pure surprise.

"Wh-where am I?"

"… _**Inside my cage…"**_ a grim voice echoed throughout the dark dimension.

Temari jilted and searched for the direction of the voice. When she couldn't anything, red particles started to appear around her and slowly forming something, "… W-who are you?!"

The red glow slowly became a solid form and stared Temari with its cold and intimidating eyes, white sharp and shiny fangs threatening to devour.

"_**It is me, female… Kyuubi no Kitsune. I don't have much time, so listen well" **_Kyuubi said in urgency, Temari couldn't help but to listen. Although Kyuubi gave off feelings of fear and intimidation, Temari couldn't help but feel calm at his presence.

"_**Be prepared. Soon, very soon, Naruto might break. You can stop him, or even prevent him from breaking… keep watch of him, female… if you don't want to lose your precious one that is… remember, keep watch of him…"**_

Temari was about to ask Kyuubi of its intentions, however the dimension broke apart and Temari suddenly ended back to where she was, sitting on top of a sand dune with Naruto, looking at the scenery of Suna at dusk.

When she snapped back to reality, Naruto was already beside her, holding her shoulders and looking worried, "Temari… Temari! Are you alright?"

Temari who was still feeling slightly dazed could only let out a small 'huh?', but not for long, "… Na-… Naru… to?"

Naruto sighed in relief, knowing that his blond companion came back to her senses. He slumped back to the ground, right beside her, "Thank God you're alright… what happened? You suddenly passed out…"

"I… I did? How long was I…?" Temari asked and Naruto quickly replied, "… well not long… around 3 to 5 minutes I guess… seriously, what's wrong? Are you tired?"

Temari flushed red and placed her hands on her cheeks, she could feel her cheeks burning. Naruto was oblivious to Temari's reaction, but then she suddenly remembered what happened.

She was deep in thoughts once again, but she seemed fine so Naruto didn't bother, _"… wait, so what was that all about? Kyuubi? Its asking me to watch over Naruto? Break? What does Kyuubi mean?"_

Temari turned toward her blond companion and looked at him in the eyes; Naruto did the same, although rather confused, _"… something doesn't add up, but if that was really Kyuubi, then Naruto must be in danger! I must protect him!" _she thought and resolutely made up her mind.

"Naruto!"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Starting tonight, I'm sleeping with you!"

"WHAAAT?!"

* * *

Somewhere near the remnant of Otogakure, Jiraiya the Toad Sennin was having quite a hard time on capturing Kabuto, who had been evading all of his attacks successfully. Jiraiya panted heavily as his kuchiyose no jutsu was dispelled. Kabuto was still standing mockingly on a tree branch, looking down at Jiraiya who was on his knees on the ground.

"Ara… you don't look too good, Jiraiya-sama… Maybe I should take a look at you? Hmm?" Kabuto snickered at Jiraiya, who grunted and prepared for his next strategy.

Kabuto's smirk widened as he waited for Jiraiya to chase him futilely once again. Much to his dismay, Jiraiya stayed still. He couldn't read what was going on through Jiraiya's head.

Jiraiya slapped his hands together and smirked, "Hmph, don't underestimate me, boy. Just because you're a few years younger than me, doesn't mean you can do as you please… you'd better start making your prayers, Kabuto"

Slowly, the area around Jiraiya started to shift around, the earth cracked and the wind blew strongly in every directions. Jiraiya muttered some incantation and closed his eyes. Kabuto stayed in his position, bracing himself against whatever might be coming.

When the wind and cracking stopped, Jiraiya still had his eyes closed but nothing happened. Kabuto who was confused at first, then sneered, "Hn, what were you trying to do, Jiraiya-sama? I don't think a small gush of wind and earth-crackling is enough to beat me, you know?"

Jiraiya smirked at Kabuto's statement, "Huh, then you have no chance of winning against me, boy…" "Huh?"

Jiraiya suddenly opened his eyes and slapped his hand together once more, _**"Ninpou: Gama Sennin no Jutsu!" **_(A/N: basically means like… something along the line of… ninpou: toad sage technique, savvy?)

A loud explosion made an impact around Jiraiya, but Kabuto could dodge it in time. He landed on another tree branch a few meters behind him; Jiraiya was still in his sight, "what the hell?"

When the smoke dissipated, a figure revealed itself in front of Kabuto. It was still in the same position as it was, but the next second it suddenly appeared a few feet right in front of him. Said medic nin was stunned and was about to jump back but the half toad half human figure was much faster than him. Before Kabuto could make his jump, his hand was caught and held tightly by said figure, who in turn just sneered and spoke with a grim voice.

"_**I won't let you runaway anymore… I hope you've made your prayers, boy**_"

"Uu… Uwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhh!!"

* * *

Back in the forest, the battle between Sharingan users was about to end. Kakashi was directly hit by Sasuke's chakra manipulated sword. Blood spurted from his mouth and chest, Kakashi's vision began to blur as he coughed up some more blood.

Sasuke stayed cold and silent, he hasn't dispelled his chakra manipulation technique but push it in even deeper instead. He jerked and shifted his hand, forming two seals. The next moment, chakra swords emerged everywhere from inside Kakashi's body; stabbing him from the inside.

Sasuke dispelled his chakra sword and Kakashi's body slumped to the ground. When he hit the ground, Sasuke looked down at his former sensei. He stared silently and opened his mouth to speak, "… Will you stop playing, sensei? I told you I don't have time for this…"

Kakashi's body suddenly turned into many leaves, it was a genjutsu. One of the leaves was falling slowly right behind Sasuke. It changed into Kakashi who had a kunai ready at hand and charged straight at him.

Sasuke almost failed to notice the attack, but Karin warned him just in time. Sasuke bent down as Kakashi swung his kunai. Their Sharingan met with each other once again and Kakashi noticed something different.

"…_Sasuke… your Sharingan… masaka…" _(A/N: masaka is like something along the line of 'don't tell me…' n stuff…)

Kakashi snapped back from his thought as Sasuke launched a back kick to Kakashi's side. The white-haired jonin noticed but he was too late to evade it; he braced himself for the impact. When it never came, Kakashi suddenly felt a hit on his other side and was sent flying to another tree.

Kakashi quickly recomposed himself and stood on guard, catching his breath yet once again. He looked at Sasuke for a moment then smirked behind his mask, "Heh, looks like I managed to nick you…"

Sasuke looked at him coldly but ran his fingers on his cheek, where a shallow small cut was made. His fingers felt the warm blood coming out and he looked at it, temporarily looking away from his opponent.

Sasuke looked back at Kakashi and smirked, "Hm, _now_ we're talking…" Sasuke readied himself once again and was about to strike anytime.

A few feet away from the battleground however, they all didn't notice a well-concealed presence. It was hiding well within a tree, and then it came out a little, revealing his head and something like a Venus flytrap around it.

"…_**Now that's interesting…"**_ "Hm, I think so too, shall we tell him then? Itachi-kun that is…"

The black side of the figure formed what look like a smirk and went back inside the tree.

* * *

Back in Konoha, nearing dusk, the ANBU forces were still covering the streets and rooftops. Tsunade has been feeling very uneasy ever since she decided to execute her plan. She's been holding onto her necklace in her office when somebody knocked.

Tsunade looked up and answered, "… enter…"

The door swung open to reveal Ibiki with two Tokubetsu ANBU guards standing behind him. "Reporting in, Hokage-sama. We have brought Hyuuga Hinata as you commanded."

Ibiki entered the room and his two guards stepped aside to let the Hyuuga heiress in. She reluctantly entered the room, her entire body shaking slightly. Her face showed worry and fear. But once she saw Tsunade's face, she calmed down a little.

"Hm, Gokuro, Ibiki. Now listen for your second mission. You too, Hinata. You are going to assist them in this mission. You won't like it, but I don't have many choices…" Tsunade said sternly, causing Hinata started to tremble slightly again. (Gokuro: Job well done)

"Hokage-sama, forgive my rudeness but may I ask you something before we go on?" Ibiki asked as he bowed his head. Tsunade gestured him to continue.

"Why make the Special ANBU force to secure Hyuuga Hinata?"

Tsunade leaned back to her chair and rested her arms on the arm chair, "… are you implying why I made the Tokubetsu ANBU _secure_ Hinata when I can just ask her to come here by herself? Is that what you're implying, Ibiki?"

Ibiki could only nod in silent, Hinata was confused and stayed silent until Tsunade replied, "… just to test your abilities, the Tokubetsu ANBU is, in a way, one of our village's last trump card and was never meant to be used unless the situation was dire, hence a simple kidnapping would certainly be a perfect warm-up, don't you think?"

"K-kidnap-…?!" Hinata let gasped, but then decided to shut her mouth. Ibiki didn't seem to be satisfied with her answer but decided to just accept it. After seeing that Ibiki understood, Tsunade continued.

"You both are to…"

* * *

"… Stay put in your positions until they come. Everyone understand?" Shikamaru just finished debriefing his friends, but soon noticed that something's missing. "Hey, I just realized… where's Hinata?"

Everybody looked around and started to wonder too. "Hey, that's right, Hinata's not here… Where is she?" Kiba asked, still looking around futilely.

Lee looked around and spoke, "Yeah, normally if it's Tenten we'll never even realize whether she's here or not but Hinata??"

"HEY!" Tenten yelled, clearly feeling offended.

"Hinata-sama hasn't been out from her room ever since that day… she hasn't been feeling well lately as well… it's starting to worry me too…" Neji replied calmly but his voice said differently.

Shikamaru sighed and muttered his infamous sentence, "God, it's so troublesome…"

"Should we tell Hinata about this?" Tenten asked after beating Lee with a bloody barbed-wire baseball bat. Lee was lying on the background with blood and bruises all over with the barbed-wired baseball bat up his ass. (A/N: Lee's fans! I'm very sorry for this but I just couldn't get that joke outta my mind, ya know… Tenten being forgotten, I needed a black sheep and well, the only one close enough to at least have talked with Tenten's either Neji or Lee, so black by popular demand, I decided to choose Lee coz it'd be weird to see Neji with a barbed-wired baseball bat up his 'noble' ass, right? Though it would certainly be funny to see Neji with a baseball bat up his ass… but in the end, in this story, not gonna happen, sorry!)

"I don't know if we should, Shikamaru… she's been locking herself up and I don't think…" Neji said but Ino cut him off, "No! We should! She'll feel even sadder if we leave her out of this! At least we should tell her about it then see for ourselves if she's fit to join us! Beside, the more the better, right?"

Ino blurted out her opinion and earned everyone's attention, she turned a bit red due to the amount of attention she got. "W-what?"

"… We could check on Hinata and tell her about it. It wouldn't hurt just to take a little detour and waste a little bit of time… I don't think they'll be coming anytime soon, at least not until it gets dark…" Shikamaru said a bit unwillingly, "what make you so sure that they won't be coming anytime soon?"

"… Experience and logic…" Lee and Kiba was definitely lost while Shino and Neji just rolled their eyes, Shikamaru decided to stop right there before turning his attention back toward the others, "any objections?"

To everyone's surprise, Neji raised his hand. "I say we leave Hinata-sama be, she'll understand", Shikamaru smiled slightly and asked again, "Any other objections?"

When nobody raised their hands, he spoke, "to be perfectly honest, I agree with Neji. From what I just heard, I can imagine that she's too unstable…"

Everyone thought about it deeply before realizing that he's right. It wasn't only Hinata but them too; they were put in a very difficult situation. They wanted to help both Sakura and Naruto because they're both their friends.

In the end, they all agreed to leave Hinata out. Shikamaru and the other moved out as soon as they agreed. They were heading toward the Haruno Residence, once again.

* * *

In the border between the Hi no Kuni and the Kaze no Kuni, the Akatsuki were still waiting in stand by for their leader to return. When silence and no movements were made, Zetsu approached the Uchiha murderer slowly. (A/N: Hi no Kuni literally translates to land of fire, while kaze no kuni literally translates to land of wind, savvy? And in this fic, Land of Wind and Land of Fire are not separated by another country! So they ARE having a border now! Hahaha, I just had to do it…)

"Hey, Itachi… I've got some good news for you…" the white side of Zetsu's face said with a grin. Itachi looked at him from the corner of his eyes, "what?"

"_**Guess who we just spotted a few miles nearby…"**_ this time the black side of Zetsu's face spoke, Itachi stayed silent but replied nonetheless, "Who?"

"Sharingan Kakashi and… your little brother…"

"_**Sharingan Kakashi and… your little brother…"**_

Both white and black Zetsu said in unison. Itachi gave his full attention to Zetsu although only his eyes moved.

The other Akatsuki also shifted their heads to look up at the two speaking Akatsuki, apparently they were interested in the subject.

Itachi still looked at Zetsu from the corner of his eyes until he finally turned his head to face Zetsu completely, "where?"

Zetsu grinned.

Konan looked from the corner of her eyes and stared at Itachi. "Don't take too long, Itachi"

Itachi stared at her for a split second before tapping his hand on Zetsu's Venus flytrap and turned his back around to walk away. He didn't say anything apart a mutter that apparently the other didn't hear.

"… So it's time…"

* * *

As Shikamaru made his way to the Hokage Tower, the rest went ahead to Sakura's house. Coincidentally the ANBU weren't posted anywhere near her house which made it easier for Neji and the rest to go there and set up the traps.

They quickly set up the traps in ten meters proximity and stood by around her house. Although they knew that it's pretty much useless, but they had at least a chance to buy Shikamaru some time.

"You'd better hurry, Shikamaru…" Ino said, clutching her chest.

Shikamaru however couldn't make it as easy as his friends did. Along his way, ANBU stood on patrol, although most of the time they let Shikamaru passed, but sometime they'd stop him for security purpose.

"Aaagh! I told you already! I just got back from a mission and I'm about to report back to Hokage-sama! Just let me go already! Jeez, so troublesome!"

"Look, I don't give a damn about your damn report, chuunin! This area is off-limit, you can't go in unless you have permission directly from the Hokage herself!" the ANBU said strictly.

Shikamaru was about to speak once again when another ANBU came in and stopped him. It was Yamato.

"Let him in, he's got permission from Godaime Hokage-sama." Tenzou said lying at his teammate, who was about to protest but when Tenzou showed him the permission letter, he grunted and disappeared behind the shadows.

"Damn, this is why ANBU's so troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed as Tenzou just chuckled, "But thanks, Yamato-san. If you hadn't showed up, I might have taken drastic measures which I prefer not to take in any case"

Tenzou stared at Shikamaru half surprised but then smiled, "Hmph, guess there's some advantages on being a genius huh?" Shikamaru just smiled back and went ahead toward the Hokage Tower.

"_Everyone, hang in there, I won't be long…"_

* * *

Kabuto screamed in pain and agony as his shoulder got dislocated by Jiraiya strong pull. The white-haired Sennin ignored Kabuto's agony, his hand still holding onto Kabuto's wrist. Just then Jiraiya pulled his hand and Kabuto who was on his knees stood once more, holding onto his dislocated shoulder with his free hand.

Kabuto was breathing heavily, his face covered in sweat, and his body was trembling, "… w-what are you?!"

Jiraiya said nothing and landed a punch on Kabuto's stomach which caused Orochimaru's right hand man to cringed and coughed up blood. Jiraiya finally let go of Kabuto's hand and stared at him quietly, and replied, _**"… Your nightmare…"**_

Kabuto glared at Jiraiya from the corner of his eyes, his body was still shaking out of fear and out of pain. While Jiraiya stood there silently, Kabuto used his medical ninjutsu to heal himself, but proved difficult with the effect of Jiraiya's blow. It disrupts the flow of chakra which is essential in medical ninjutsu.

Kabuto coughed up some more blood and Jiraiya spoke again, _**"… it is very regrettable to use this childish move against you…"**_

Kabuto paid little attention to Jiraiya and focused on using his chakra for healing his injuries. _"… Ghh… Childish? This?!"_ he groaned.

"_**You might still be vast asleep inside Kabuto, Orochimaru… but you're awake to me… and I won't make the same mistake as I and Sarutobi-sensei did… again…"**_

Jiraiya raised a fist up high to the air, ready to thrust it down toward the injured medic nin, who just gritted his teeth, _**"This time, you're going to die for real… Sayonara, old friend…"**_

Jiraiya thrust his fist down and a loud impact could be heard from miles away. However, Jiraiya had not expected this at all.

Instead of a crushed body of Kabuto, he found himself cut deeply in many places, still in the same position after he landed the blow. Blood spurted freely from everywhere from Jiraiya's body. He coughed up blood and his jutsu was soon dispelled.

Jiraiya fell backward and cringed in pain. When he looked up, he didn't see Kabuto. It was still Kabuto's body, but the person he saw was none other than Orochimaru.

Jiraiya's eyes went wide as he saw Orochimaru looking at him with a rather exhausted yet serious face, his Kusanagi sword at hand. That moment reminded them of that time when they fought together in the forest, when Orochimaru defected from Konoha.

Jiraiya was breathing heavily in turn as he was seriously injured while Orochimaru also appeared to be very exhausted. Then Orochimaru gave a creepy smirk and spoke, "… h-heard you were about to… kill me, huh, Jiraiya…" he said panting.

Jiraiya regained his composure and talked back, "… I think I was, old pal…"

"Hm, y-you know you can't… kill me, Jiraiya…", "… Maybe I can't but we'll never know till we try, won't we?", "Hn, you and your childish logic…"

Both Sannin stayed silent for another few seconds before Orochimaru cringed in pain and panted heavily, "huh… I guess you did quite a number on me… what was that jutsu, Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya breathed steadily although he could still feel the pain, "Hn, as if I'm going to tell you…"

Orochimaru sneered and spoke, "Kukuku, you're right… that jutsu doesn't actually interest me anyway… its form isn't beauti-… Uuh…" Orochimaru cringed in pain once again and stared at Jiraiya with very exhausted eyes.

"Huh, guess I'll take my leave now if… if you don't mind" Orochimaru said as his presence started to dissipate and Kabuto's slowly taking place.

"Khh… shit!" Jiraiya cursed, he couldn't move his body.

By the time Kabuto returned, he was still injured and exhausted. However, his eyes showed signs of being victorious. Jiraiya noticed and growled, "Hn, so you forcefully woke him up huh? Sneaky bastard…"

"Heheh, Jiraiya-sama, it is but a battle, of course there is no such thing as being unfair now is there? But now if you permit, I'll take my leave, o' _great_ Sannin"

Jiraiya spat at the ground beside him as Kabuto turned around and walked away.

He thought up of some plan and after estimating his chakra reserve, he decided to call Gamabunta. He slowly performed hand seals and after the last seal he muttered slowly, "_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu…**_"

Gamabunta appeared and Jiraiya was lying down on his head, "yeah, yeah I know, Gamabunta… just take me back to Tsunade and I'll explain along the way…"

Gamabunta complied reluctantly and quickly headed toward Konoha knowing that Jiraiya's injuries were very serious.

* * *

"… Eh? B-but…" Hinata tried to find the right words but it never came. Ibiki stood behind her looking dumbfounded too.

Tsunade said nothing and just stared from her seat. Then Ibiki spoke up abruptly, "Godaime-sama, forgive my rudeness but, I thought it was for dire situations?! Why are we being sent to secure two chuunin? Hokage-sama, you know very well our abilities…"

Tsunade looked at him and replied calmly, "Ibiki, I _know_ the full extent of their abilities, thank you. And for your information, this is a dire situation. We should not take Naruto's matter lightly. Or have you forgotten already that Kyuubi is inside him?!

Ibiki was about to talk again but Tsunade was faster, "Ibiki… your team is needed to secure Haruno Sakura in the safest place possible, with little attention as possible… and to make your mission easier, you'll need Hinata acting as decoy. I am sure that those kids will take action by themselves, hence Hinata as the decoy. She'll be able to divert their attention from that girl for a split second; you can do that can't you? Beside, you'd better not underestimate those kids, especially Shikamaru… they're all the future protectors of Konoha for God's sake, they are bound to surpass us…"

Ibiki gulped and was speechless but managed to stay calm, he wouldn't let a sweat fall down because it shows a sign of weakness. His eyes showed uncertainty but at the same time it also showed a sense of duty. Ibiki nodded politely and backed down, standing quietly like before.

"Go-Godaime-sama… I…" Hinata opened her mouth again, trying to speak up. Tsunade noticed and decided to speak first and hugged her, "I know Hinata, it must be hard for you but please, do it for Sakura and Naruto's sake…"

Hinata yelped a little and stared at the ground, "I… I…"

"Hyuuga Hinata. This is a B-rank mission for you. Distract everyone who comes near Sakura's house then retreat with Ibiki once the Tokubetsu ANBU has successfully secured her!" Hinata yelped softly and became quiet, but nodded.

"_What should I do?"_

* * *

**A/N: **there you go, hope y'all ain't confused with how it steadily changes scenes every now and then and I hope that y'all r satisfied as well for now, more battles are coming up ahead as well as complications, I hope you all haven't forgotten about Sai yet (grins). So yeah, more to come! But for now, you know the drill… holla!

Oh yeah, before that, if there are some Japanese expressions/words in here that I haven't translated yet, you can looked into it from earlier chapters, I know I have translated them, it would certainly be too much if you still don't understand if you're into anime and manga and stuffs… no offense btw…


	8. Chapter 8: Sandstorms

_**A/N: hey ya! it's been quite a while since i last updated huh, but 'fraid not, the eight chapter, fresh out of the oven, is out now! thanks for your patience and i'm so sorry for the long wait, as a present for your wait, i've written more in this chapter, resulting in a twenty pages long chapter, longest i've written yet, but i think it's just going to get longer and longer, we'll see... also, for those that are DYING to know what Sakura did in the past, haha, i'll have you wait for one more chapter as it's been set that the tenth chapter'll be dedicated fully on what she did, so it's somewhat like a flashback chapter, yes it's going to be long, so for now, just enjoy on the flow of the story as many more actions and revelations are on the menu. Without further ado, enjoy the eight chapter...**_

_**Disclaimer: I wonder if i really have to do this in every chapter... do I?**_

* * *

_**Chapter VIII - Sandstorms**_

It's already night time both in Konoha and Suna, although the night's still young but it was about to be one long night. Suna at night is pretty cold since it's surrounded by the desert and small sandstorms were normal occurrence of their everyday life. That night, two blonds in Suna would experience a new bond. A certain blond from Konoha couldn't care less about what would happen later that night except for the fact that he's going to share a room with a certain blonde from Suna. He was extremely nervous to say the least.

His heart was pounding very hard, knowing that the blonde kunoichi in question would come into his room anytime. He glanced every now and then toward the door, hoping against all hope that it won't open so suddenly.

Temari and Naruto had been pretty close ever since he came to Suna a few days ago. Perhaps due of their close relationship, Naruto started to feel awkward and nervous about all this.

"_Goddamn it, what have I gotten myself into, dattebayo…?"_ Naruto thought as he sighed softly.

As he immersed in thoughts, he slowly smiled sadly as a thought came rushing back in his mind, _"― that's right, I won't be able to sleep anyway― but then… doesn't that mean that I can… no… no, no, no, no, no! Come on, you can't do that! You're not Ero-Sennin for God's sake!"_ Naruto turned from smiling sadly to holding his head and shook in denial.

Just as he was busy shaking his head, his anxiety finally came, a few knocks on his door. Naruto jumped slightly from his bed and stared nervously at the door, "… y-yes?"

The door flung open to reveal a pair of teal eyes with black bags around them, "hey…"

It was Gaara.

Naruto who expected to see Temari let out a sigh of relief, "hey what's up, Gaara?"

Gaara walked into the room closer to Naruto's bed. As he walked forward, Naruto had the funny impression that Gaara seemed to be inspecting his room, seeing how he glanced all over the room until his teal eyes landed onto the beds.

Feeling content, Gaara turned to look at Naruto who looked perplexed, "I heard Temari's going to spend the night with you…"

Naruto slightly jumped at Gaara's sudden statement, "uh, yeah she is― did she tell you that?" Naruto replied in embarrassment.

Gaara just stared silently at his blond friend who, by now is rubbing the back of his head and smiling sheepishly as his cheeks turned slightly red. Gaara stared at him as he usually does and then smiled slightly, "… yeah, in a way she did― I must say it was quite amusing when she blurted it out…"

Gaara who went on to his usual fold-over arms while talking, chuckled ever so slightly and Naruto was surprised to see that side of his old friend, "how so?"

As Naruto gestured Gaara to sit down, the Kazekage obliged and sat on the free bed beside which Naruto sat cross-legged, "Hmm, I was on my way to go see Kankurou this afternoon to see if he's done with the paperwork I need for today when I passed by Temari's room― I heard some noises from her room and I thought that something must be happening so I took a peek to see that her room was a total mess with her clothes all over the place…"

Naruto raised his eyebrows and had his eyes wide as he continued to listen to his red haired friend, "― and then, I saw her running in circles, muttering something that sounded much like 'what should I do, what should I wear' etc. when I was about to enter her room and ask what happened, she suddenly fell down on her knees and practically yelled―…"

"_Why the hell did I say that I'm going to sleep with Naruto from now on!? AUGH!"_

Much to Naruto's surprise, Gaara let out another swift chuckle and stood up, "Well, I think she might be here any minute now, so I'd better go…"

Naruto just nodded dumbly as Gaara made his way toward the door only to stop midway, "ah, I forgot something…"

Gaara turned around to face Naruto, "… I know that the beds are separated and that's fine but―"

Gaara's stoic face suddenly turned into his old maniacal one, "― if I ever see you do improper things to Temari, you can bet your ass that I'm going to hunt you down, do I make myself clear?"

Naruto had cold sweats as his jaw hit the floor and his eyes gauged out of its sockets, "y-yes!"

Gaara's expression turned back to his usual calm one and he turned around once again, "good, have fun then…"

As the door closed behind him, Naruto sighed in relief although his heart was still beating like mad and then he laughed dryly, "damn, I'd never expect Gaara to be overprotected― I might've awaken the wrong side of him, now that I think about it…"

Before Naruto could finish his muttering, another knocking rapped his door, he jumped slightly, thinking nervously that it must be the one he was expecting to come, "it-it's open!"

This time the door flung open slightly to reveal a pair of teal eyes with a few blond hair locks peeping through, "h-hey…"

Naruto gulped upon hearing the sweet voice, his nose could even smell the fresh scent of soap. She has just taken a bath he thought. Naruto's face suddenly turned red after having such thoughts and quickly suppressed it and told Temari to come in.

"Aah yeah― co-come on in…" he said trying to sound normal but his voice stuttered after all.

Temari gave a soft nod before opening the door a little bit more to allow Naruto to see her completely from head to toe. His jaw dropped at the sight, his eyes turned wide. It certainly wasn't his first time to see Temari in kimono, but it certainly was his first time to see her in sleeping kimono and untied hair, although it looked rather simple but it gave off a fresh look.

"W-what is it?" Temari asked nervously and half-glaring when she noticed Naruto staring wide-eyed at her.

Naruto shook his head and then quickly replied whilst waving his hands innocently, "n-nothing!"

Temari stayed silent and turned slightly red as she muttered softly, _"damn, I knew it would look weird! I shouldn't have come wearing this after all!"_

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes before they turned to see each other and their gaze met, "a-ano sa…"

Temari and Naruto called at the same time but Naruto quickly allowed her to speak first, "S-sorry, you go first", "N-no it's alright… I think I forgot what I wanted to say anyway,"

"O-okay um― I just want to say that y-you look very good in that kimono…" Naruto's cheeks turned red all the way to his ears while Temari stayed dumbfounded and couldn't react accordingly. She blushed harder and hid her face with one of her hands although she managed to retort, "w-what are you talking about!? It's just a simple kimono!"

"But Temari, I mean it… really, dattebayo!" Naruto said trying to convince her as he scratched his whisker marks.

Temari peeked at Naruto from behind her fingers, still trying to hide her blush, "… thanks…"

As she half-glared while blushing hard, Naruto just nodded nervously, "y-yeah,"

* * *

A few miles away, in the vast forest of the Fire Country, the Sharingan users were still fighting. Kakashi was exhausted as he'd used his Sharingan too much and Sasuke in the other hand was also starting to feel tired. He knew that it won't be an easy feat to fight against his former teacher, but he was willing to use everything he got in order to reach his goal.

"… Sasuke…" Kakashi said as he panted. Sasuke looked up, panting as well. The two of them stood atop a tree branch while maintaining their distance.

"I thought I told you that talk time are finished!?" Sasuke retorted.

"Oh shut up, brat― you're still ten years too early to be telling me what to do…" Kakashi replied in his usual tone.

"Hn, looks like the guy 'who is ten years too early to be telling you what to do' got you pretty beat up… any comment on that?" Sasuke sneered mischievously.

Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows slightly and replied, "not cute― but screw all that, what I've got to say is that you won't find Naruto in Konoha," Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his former teacher, "… what?"

"Like I said, Naruto isn't in Konoha right now… if you don't believe me, you can go ahead to Konoha and get a welcome-back greeting by an entire ANBU force, were you even listening to me?"

"… You're lying, Kakashi― Naruto has the Kyuubi in his freaking stomach, he won't be able to easily get out of the cage called Konoha… he's there, isn't he?"

"I told you already, he's not. If you still don't trust me, then go ahead and get arrested, be my guest. Just for your information, I've sent one of my dogs to Konoha when we met earlier to inform Tsunade-sama about a possible breach by you and your petty group, so even if you do get there, you won't penetrate easily…"

"… Damn you, Kakashi …" Sasuke said through his gritted teeth as he glared at his former teacher.

Just as the two were locked in a glaring contest, Jyuugo started to feel his blood to boil for some reason. He clutched onto his coat and tried to suppress a familiar urge from breaking loose, _"… w-what is this?"_

"Jyuugo, are you alright?" Karin asked when she noticed Jyuugo's pale face, "y-yeah, I'm fine…"

"Damn this fight is taking far too long… wouldn't it be a lot faster if we just attack him together?" Suigetsu whined as he crossed his arms and pouted.

"Baka! Sasuke-kun told us to not interfere didn't he? You want to die young or something!?" Karin yelled at him as she slapped his head which quickly turned into water at the moment of impact.

"Ouch! What was that for, bitch?!" Suigetsu yelled back at her and then they got into a verbal fight, which was loud enough for Kakashi and Sasuke to hear but they tried their best to ignore it.

"H-hey, you two…" Jyuugo said trying to separate his comrades. Just as he was about to separate them, his blood boiled once again, stronger than the last time.

Just as Suigetsu and Karin were still fighting, Jyuugo and the Sharingan users noticed something or rather, someone, coming discreetly.

"… This feeling…" Kakashi muttered as he looked far behind where Hebi stood.

"… It can't be…" Sasuke muttered as he turned back to look far behind his comrades.

"…" Jyuugo only gapped as he too, turned slowly to look behind him, his expression was starting to change into excitement.

From inside the thick darkness of the vast forest, even though it was still quite far away but everyone could notice something unusual. They narrowed their eyes to see a pair of ominous red eyes glowing from the darkness, getting closer and closer.

Knowing at once who it could be, Kakashi and Sasuke yelled in unison a name while Jyuugo only smirked excitedly.

"ITACHI!"

* * *

In the meantime, at the other side of the forest, a gigantic frog was hopping at an incredible speed, destroying a few trees along.

"So when are you going to tell me, Jiraiya?! What the hell happened to you?!" Gamabunta asked angrily as he puffed a smoke and hopped in a hurry.

Gamabunta didn't get any reply and decidedly stopped for a second, he called for Jiraiya once again, "Jiraiya? Are you listening to me, you ero bastard?"

Still nothing,

Gamabunta slipped his pierced tongue out and enveloped Jiraiya delicately. Then he brought it in front of his eyes. When he shifted his tongue to reveal Jiraiya's body, Gamabunta was shocked. He saw the white-haired Sannin unconscious and by the looks of it, Jiraiya was rapidly losing blood.

"Jiraiya! Shit! I've got to hurry!" Gamabunta put Jiraiya into his kimono pocket so that he won't fall from his head and hopped in a hurry once again, "damn it Jiraiya, don't you die on me… you owe me for putting your disgusting blood on my cool tongue!"

* * *

Ibiki and Hinata stood at the top of the Hokage tower. The two of them had just been debriefed by Tsunade about their mission. Both of them couldn't help but to feel rather awkward, they knew they couldn't disobey orders and that they have to go real soon, but they certainly couldn't go with an uncertain heart.

"I'm very sorry for this Hinata-san, but we have to do this. My team has gone to Haruno's residence to scout the area and to gather information. An informer should be back anytime soon" Ibiki said behind his white mask.

"I-I understand… c-can I ask you a question, I-Ibiki-san?" Hinata replied shyly and nervously.

Ibiki didn't shift his head to see the Hyuuga heiress but he replied nonetheless, "go ahead…"

Hinata nodded and gulped as she mustered her courage to ask, "… w-what is this ANBU unit? I-I've never heard of them before…"

Ibiki stayed silent for a while before taking off his mask and stared at it, "… of course you haven't… but one day you shall, if you are to inherit the Hyuuga clan…"

Hinata looked uncertain at Ibiki as she held her hands defensively, "h-hai?"

"… Well since you are either way, it wouldn't hurt to tell you a bit about them… these shinobi are what you call special among specials― they're our top most secret weapon…" Ibiki started.

"… S-secret weapon?"

"Hmm… ANBU are publicly known although they don't really make many appearances unless the situation is dire… they are shinobi that work behind the curtains unlike jonin, chuunin or genin… in a way, they are the special unit that do all the unspeakable things… granted, non-ANBU shinobi also does the same but what differentiates us with those normal shinobi is probably the amount of assassination and dirty jobs that even normal shinobi doesn't know of…"

Hinata stayed silent as she listened intently. She already knew the general knowledge about ANBU as she was taught during her Academy years.

Ibiki continued, "… however, even among special cases, there will always be an even more special case, which mean, even among the ANBU ranks there are special ranks which are kept secret even from the public and only a few senior-ranking members know about… the sole purpose of the creation of such special rank is to ensure a one hundred percent successive mission rate with no single flaw― the perfect unit…"

"P-perfect unit? B-but even if the successive rate of mission is supposedly a hundred percent, sure-surely there must be a small flaw, even a tiny one…" Hinata said.

Ibiki just smiled slightly, "… no, it's truly a hundred percent figure… not a single flaw… what determine their value is that… nobody even knows it was their work but themselves… the special ANBU doesn't leave even a single trace of their work, they never indulge their personal emotions during a mission, they never hesitate in executing their mission, they are truly the epitome of cold-blooded machine…"

Hinata was wide-eyed, never in her entire life would she expect her village to have such units but then Ibiki continued,

"Tell me, Hinata-san… how did they take you out from the Hyuuga compound?"

"Eh? W-well, one of them suddenly appeared from an extended shadow and then another one came out a-and she changed into me… t-then I was taken into the shadow and t-they took me here…"

"Do you know why they bothered to have one of them transformed into you?" Ibiki asked as he stared forward.

"Eh? I-I don't… oh!"

"Exactly, to give the Hyuugas an impression that nothing happened… that is the method they'd usually use when it involves kidnappings. When they have surrounded your compound and had taken you away, you didn't feel a single thing, did you? No intent to kill, not an attempt to hide one's presence, not even a single sound… nothing… and did you notice the one who transformed into you?"

"Eh? Um… I-I think… I saw that she has the same eyes as me…"

"That's right, she's a Hyuuga just like you… and when you saw those escorting you here, you must notice the emblem on their arm protectors do you not?"

Hinata suddenly realized something and stared at Ibiki in surprise, "c-could it be…!"

"Yes, many of them are Hyuugas, which is why I told you all this― if you are to become the head of the Hyuuga clan one day, you will get this information as many of the special ANBU member comes from your clan… the sense of perfection of the Hyuugas is one of the many factors that make the creation of such unit possible…"

Hinata was utterly surprised at the new revelation of her clan and her village's secret, "b-but then… w-what will happen to-to everyone who is involved? If what you said is true, doesn't it mean that…?"

"… When it involves assassination, complete annihilation is the only option, to obliterate anything that saw you in action, hence, only death shall be awarded to those that got themselves involved… although in your case, since you are taking part in this mission as well as the fact that not only you're the heiress of the Hyuuga clan but also a Konoha nin, the most probable thing to happen to you is… that we erase part of your memory after all this is done― …"

As he put his mask back on to hide his regretful expression, he continued, "― so will your friends if they were to be that unfortunate…"

Hinata could only tremble where she stood and thought of her and the others' fate.

When another awkward silence threatened to take over the atmosphere once again, a Tokubetsu ANBU appeared just as Ibiki had predicted, "Ibiki-taichou, reporting in!"

"Go on"

"We have scouted the area for any traps or suspicious movements and we've discovered that in the proximity of fifteen meters, traps had been set all around Haruno's residence with all of them being set at places where infiltration may be possible. Also, we've detected 7 people who seemed to be guarding certain places…"

"Just as Hokage-sama predicted… have you located Nara Shikamaru's position?", "According to the recon team, Nara Shikamaru wasn't with them. An ANBU has spotted him however, heading this way…"

Hinata was surprised to hear the information, "Shikamaru-kun?"

Ibiki however had a different thought, "Alright, then let him come. It will be a lot easier without him around. Although he's just a chuunin, but his intelligence is not something we should mess with… now how about the weakest link?"

"Yes. According to the recon team, the weakest link lies with a person called Yamanaka Ino. She's guarding the east side of the target's house."

Without wasting anymore precious time, Ibiki nodded and prepared to leave with the messenger, Hinata followed closely from behind, "take me there. Hinata-san, let's move out"

"Y-yes!"

* * *

Somewhere dark, a black-haired boy was lying on the ground, tied and surrounded by a seal-enhanced barrier. He woke up slowly, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness. His body felt so numb he could barely feel his limbs. Fortunately it didn't take long before he finally regained enough sense of his own body.

"Uh… where am I?"

He tried to shift his uncomfortable position a little bit only to fall back down, he was still feeling weak. When he landed on the ground once again, it made a soft thud which seemed to notify his captor. Footsteps could be heard from afar.

The boy stayed alert and immovable to analyze the situation and to get a good look at his captor, he couldn't remember a thing before he was captured. When the sound of footsteps could be heard coming closer and closer, he remained immovable but became more alert. He focused his eyes and senses on the direction of the approaching noise.

"Have you come to your senses, Sai?"

Sai's eyes went wide at the familiar voice, although he still couldn't see well, but the voice and the scent were unmistakably familiar. He looked up to get a better look at his captor's blurry face. His eyes went even wider in surprise, not for recognizing his captor but for what he wore.

Red clouds imprinted on a seemingly long black robe.

"… N-no…" he muttered, his mouth gapped open in disbelief.

His captor was none other than his mentor, Danzou in an Akatsuki robe.

* * *

Back in the forest, the three and only widely known Sharingan users alive to date gathered together for the first time. Although Karin showed anxiety and Suigetsu showed interest, they didn't noticed Jyuugo's facial expression and the small changes in his body. He was excited.

None of the three Sharingan users spoke for a moment, Kakashi was the most surprised of the three as he would have never thought nor dreamed of meeting two Uchihas at the same time and at the same place, not to mention that they're the last of their kinds.

Itachi was mostly staring at his brother, who only glared back hatefully. He took his eyes off Sasuke's for a second to look at Kakashi, who was resting his Sharingan.

"Kakashi-san― were you trying to go to Suna by any chance?" he asked nonchalantly. Kakashi's normal eye went wide, "you! Don't tell me…!"

"If it's Naruto-kun you're looking for, our leader is currently on his way to retrieve him. You won't get passed the border anyway…"

"Itachi!"

Sasuke who was left out of the conversation looked mildly surprised, "… that idiot is in Suna? What the hell is he doing over there, that moron…?" Itachi and Kakashi just glanced at Sasuke, not answering his question.

"Well it doesn't matter anyway, seeing that you're here I don't need that idiot anymore… time to die, Itachi!" Sasuke said again, resuming his battle stance.

"Still as impatient as ever… although you look somewhat different, but I see that you still haven't changed at all, have you little brother…"

Sasuke twitched before he disappeared from his initial position only to reappear right away behind Itachi, who noticed a second late, "DIE!"

Sasuke thrust his empty hand forward and aimed at Itachi's heart, Itachi however saw this attack coming and leaped forward attempting to elude Sasuke's hand only to be struck by Sasuke's chakra manipulation technique from behind.

"Uh… y-you sure have gotten stronger, Sasuke…" Itachi groaned, blood coming out from his mouth.

Sasuke just glared hatefully from behind as he twitched, "… you know nothing of my hatred toward you… how much have I enveloped my heart with vengeance… how much have I trained for this day… you know nothing of it!"

Kakashi stared silently at the sight before him, two Uchihas finally battle it out. Two brothers fighting each other, one doing so solely for vengeance whilst the other for unknown reason.

"Huh, it's settled then…" Itachi smirked before his whole body changed into dozens of crows. Sasuke was taken aback for a bit before regaining his composure, "tch, genjutsu!"

Kakashi looked around to find Itachi's location but then noticed something behind him. He turned around quickly to find Itachi standing calmly, "Kakashi-san, I suggest you turn back to Konoha and take care of things over there… although we are currently gathered at the border, but we do have loyal followers in each shinobi villages― that includes Konoha,"

Kakashi's eyes went wide at Itachi's statement, "W-what did you say?!"

"This isn't the perfect time to be talking now is it? If you'll excuse me, I have a little brother to deal with, family problems…" with that said, Itachi jumped over Kakashi who stayed glued on spot.

"Katon: Ryuusenka no Jutsu!" balls of flames headed toward Kakashi and Itachi, Itachi quickly performed seals and countered the jutsu, "Katon: Ryuusenka no Jutsu!" another balls of flames made their way toward the other balls of flames, hitting head on and canceling each other.

The flames disappeared in midair and revealed two Uchihas, one with a kunai at hand while the other with a katana. They swung their weapon at each other and created an impact of metals clashing and small sparks which lit the dark forest, illuminated only by the moonlight.

Kakashi regained his composure after hearing a shocking revelation from Itachi and quickly looked back to the two Uchiha's fight, "… right, I don't have the time to be indecisive, I might lose my life here but I guess it's worth it…"

Kakashi went into several hand seals and shouted softly, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Pakkun appeared on the tree branch looking rather surprised, "What the hell, Kakashi?!"

"Pakkun, sorry but can you do me a favor? As you can see I'm rather in a pinch here, so I've got to move fast", "Wha- yes I can see that, what the hell are you summoning me for when you've got two freaking Uchihas fighting? Not to mention that they're trying to kill each other too! You know you're not their match and you know I don't like to butt in into fights!"

"Yes, yes, I know sorry― but can you just do me this favor and hopefully I'll repay you back…" Pakkun glared at him worriedly "… just don't say things like that again, Kakashi…"

Kakashi smiled behind his mask and patted Pakkun's head, "alright! It really wasn't the wrong decision to make a pact with you― well now, run back to Konoha and inform Tsunade of a possible Akatsuki spy in the village… no, tell her that we have an Akatsuki spy inside the village,"

"Akatsuki spy in the village, gotcha!" Pakkun replied confirming his mission.

"Also, tell her that Naruto's in grave danger, if possible, tell her to send a notice to Kazekage-sama that the entire Akatsuki group are currently heading to Suna with their leader heading there while the rest of them are waiting at the border,"

"Are you serious!? This is a grave matter, Kakashi!" Pakkun replied in urgency and Kakashi just nodded simply, "yes, it is, so can I count on you to get there as fast as you can?"

"You bet I can! I'll even bet my pride as the fastest nin-dog ever! So if you want to repay me, just come back alive and treat me some meat, get it!?"

As he said that, Pakkun ran off toward the direction of Konoha. Kakashi watched as his scouting dog disappeared in the darkness, when he was sure that he's safe, Kakashi turned around, observing the fight once again.

"Aalright, I think it's time to get serious…" Kakashi reopened his Sharingan eye and had both his eyes opened.

* * *

Near the main gate of Konoha, a large toad was approaching in high speed. The guards in the tower immediately reported this to their commanding superior who in return smacked their heads and told them to immediately open the gate.

"You fools! Can't you even recognize Jiraiya-sama and Yondaime-sama's great toad, Gamabunta!? Open that damn gate!" their superior yelled at his unfortunate subordinates.

Near the closed gate, Kotetsu and Izumo were about to finish their daily duty as gatekeeper and reported back to Tsunade. When they were about to make a move, they became aware of some rather fast approaching rumblings coming in from the gate's direction. Izumo and Kotetsu turned their heads toward the gate but were forced to turn around again as one of the guards called them.

"Izumo-san, Kotetsu-san! Please help me open the gate! Jiraiya-sama seemed to be outside!" he said. Without thinking twice Izumo and Kotetsu dropped their stuffs and jumped to help the guards open the gate.

When they pushed outward to open the gate, something appeared to block the gate from the outside, preventing the gate to open. As they tried to push again, some of them also realized that the rumblings seemed to have stopped.

"Guh shit! What the hell is blocking this damn gate?!" Kotetsu groaned.

"Could it be-…" before Izumo could finish his sentence, a vast blast of smoke erupted although it was harmless. White smoke was filling the surrounding for a good few seconds.

"W-what the…!" Kotetsu let out as he protected his eyes from the thick white smoke that managed to pass through small gaps in the gate and coughed when some entered his mouth.

"Kotetsu-san! The gate!"

Kotetsu instinctively looked toward the gate, which was fully open, "Wha-…!? Since when!?"

"Kotetsu-san, look!" Izumo said pointing at the ground in front of them.

The thick smoke which was filling the area started to dissipate and reveal a person they all know too well lying on the ground, covered in blood and unconscious.

Kotetsu as well as the others had their mouths wide open at the sight, "Ji-… Jiraiya-sama!?"

A squad of ANBU didn't waste their time and quickly revealed themselves, "hey you! Call the medics! It's an emergency! Jiraiya-sama is wounded heavily!" one of the ANBU ordered his comrade as he approached the wounded Sannin.

Kotetsu, Izumo, and the tower guards could only stare in terror, utterly shocked at the sight. Never would've they imagined to see such scene, they have never expected to see one of their strongest shinobi to be heavily wounded.

"You there! Move! Don't stand in the way!" one of the ANBU shouted sternly at Kotetsu who was still in shock, "a― y-yes…"

Izumo jumped beside Kotetsu, "― this is really bad, Kotetsu-san…" Kotetsu nodded slowly still in shock, "… y-yeah…"

The medic team arrived and performed a quick surgery to stop the bleeding, "Oi! Bring me the stretcher! Quickly! And you! Help me close the wounds on his legs! Faster, damn it!"

The urgency could be sensed from miles away. Shikamaru who was nearby also sensed it, although he couldn't quite place it. When he heard a commotion toward the gate however, he turned around and stopped on his track for a bit to check it out.

"Wha-…?! What happened?!" thinking it shouldn't be something he has to worry about, he decided to resume his mission, unfortunately he was stopped by another ANBU which meant another few minutes of another explaining to do.

Back at the gate, most of Jiraiya's wounds were handled with the medic teams' first aids; it was however, far from over. They still have to perform a full surgery and a thorough check-up.

After putting Jiraiya on the stretcher, two medic nin were kneeling at each ends, "Alright, pull him up, we're going right away!" the head of the medic team ordered and his subordinates took Jiraiya out of the scene.

The ANBU squad which was there earlier also disappeared into thin air, following closely the medic-nin in the shadows.

"Ne, Kotetsu-san… shouldn't we― report this back to Godaime-sama?" Kotetsu snapped back to reality and nodded nervously, "y-you're right, let's go"

* * *

Somewhere near the border between Country of Rice and Country of Earth, Kabuto was resting on a boulder by a small river. He's been attempting to treat his wounds but Jiraiya's technique did him quite a number.

"Damn it, what's with this numbness? I can't even concentrate my chakra well…"

Just when he was about to try again, he faintly heard a far too familiar voice ringing in his head.

"… Ka… to…"

He tilted his head up and looked around, "… Orochimaru-sama?"

"…Kabuto, it's no use― you'll never be able to heal those wounds, at least for now…"

"Eh? W-what do you mean, Orochimaru-sama?"

"… I'm getting forgetful in my age, Kabuto― I've forgotten that I had been hit by that jutsu when I was younger once…"

Kabuto jolted in surprise, "What?!"

"Kuku… yes, I can remember it clearly now― back then, we all had our own training and Jiraiya had his' at mount Myoboku where he met with some old toad… after his training, he came back and we had a little spar…"

Kabuto kept listening intently.

"… I just done mastering my original jutsu and planned on using it, but then so did he― that idiot used that technique and dumb that he is, he went completely berserk at his first try… he couldn't control it well that time, in result his bestial instinct took over his mind and he was no different than a beast in a form of a half-toad half-human… I got hit several times and thought I was done for…"

"I-impossible…"

"Unfortunately it is, but it didn't end just like that, no― in fact, he somehow returned to his own self and collapsed soon afterward, me in the other hand, was badly injured. Not life-threatening but not small either. Tsunade did a fine job patching Jiraiya but she couldn't heal mine… she did training in medic and she turned out to be a fine medic nin but her skills couldn't do anything to what Jiraiya did to me…"

"O-Orochimaru-sama… what is the secret behind his technique?!"

"Fufu, alas I don't know… it took me around a week to fully recover from those wounds, I couldn't perform any jutsu, my chakra concentration was a mess and my body felt very weak― it was unbearable…"

"I-if so… Doesn't it mean that…?"

"Yes, I'm afraid we'll have to wait for your body to recover naturally― we have to find a place to rest for the time being…"

"U-understood!"

Kabuto was still surprised to hear a story of his master being beaten, but he shook his head, focused, and began to walk limply again.

"… _My attack using the Kusanagi sword shouldn't be that deep and life-threatening, yet he couldn't move afterward­_―_ could it be… his jutsu's side effect? Hn, whatever, it doesn't concern me…"_ Orochimaru whispered to himself as he turned back to sleep.

* * *

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Tsunade's voice resonated throughout the tower; every living being could hear her as if lightning itself struck right beside you.

"H-hai, Jiraiya-sama is currently in a critical condition, he's been transported to the hospital by the medic team and some ANBU…" Izumo reported nervously.

"J-Jiraiya…?!" Tsunade almost fell on her chair if only Kotetsu didn't talk, "T-Tsunade-sama, are you alright?"

"O-of course, I'll be on my way…" Tsunade said trying to maintain her stature although fear could be heard and seen from her voice and face.

She literally ran toward the hospital, passing many ANBU who were patrolling the streets and had a dumbfounded look when Tsunade passed them by.

Uneasiness began to rise, her breathing became irregular; she ran toward the hospital hopeful yet fearful at the same time.

Just then at the street adjacent to the one she took, Shikamaru didn't know that they just crossed each other. When Shikamaru was running on a street heading toward the Hokage Tower, Tsunade was running on the other street that was divided by a range of housings, right adjoining the one Shikamaru took. He kept on going toward the Hokage Tower in hope to find the person he just crossed indirectly.

* * *

Hinata and Ibiki just got into the proximity of Sakura's house, they approached carefully and two Tokubetsu ANBU suddenly appeared before them.

"Captain, we are ready" one of them said, Ibiki just nodded.

"Alright Hinata-san, this is how we'll proceed. According to my men, they have detected all the traps in the area, three of my men will follow you and tell you where to go to avoid setting the trap. Yamanaka Ino is said to be concealed behind the first house on the right, over there…" Ibiki said as he pointed his finger toward a green-colored house, Hinata nodded nervously.

"These three ANBU shall follow you inside your shadow; good thing the moon's bright tonight. You will walk normally according to their direction toward the target's house, when Yamanaka Ino approaches you, stall. The ANBU will do the rest in ten minutes. Do you understand your mission, Hinata-san? Remember, just try to walk casually according to their directions, Yamanaka won't feel suspicious,"

Hinata nodded nervously once again and clenched her fist, she then showed determination. She too, didn't want her friends to get more trouble than they already have.

"Very good, let's get to it then."

The three Tokubetsu ANBU performed a couple of hand seals and they sunk into the ground, three puddles of black substance moved and mingled with Hinata's own shadow.

She was tense but after Ibiki nodded, she knew she couldn't back away now. It was too late for her to back out. She gulped and proceeded to move forward.

"I can do this… for everyone!"

* * *

At around the same time in Suna, a small sandstorm was running wild across the village although it's pretty much harmless. Inside the VIP room, however a pair of blonds weren't affected by in the slightest.

"… BLACKJACK!"

"AAW NOOOO!!"

The two blonds in question were playing blackjack on Naruto's bed as to kill some time before they decided to go to sleep.

"Damn― who would've guessed you're so strong in blackjack?!" Naruto pouted as he crossed his arms childishly.

Temari just giggled as she grinned teasingly and gave Naruto the V-sign, "I guess it's just one of my natural ability,"

"Hn, let's do another round then!" Naruto hollered as he raised a finger, "you're on" Temari replied accepting the challenge with a smirk.

Naruto was shuffling the cards when a thought came into mind. He looked up from the cards in his hands to see Temari waiting calmly and then smirked deviously, "― ne, Temari… how about we make this round more interesting?"

Temari stared straight into Naruto's eyes although she missed his earlier scheming smirk. She pondered for a moment as she analyzed Naruto calmly, thinking that it wouldn't hurt to turn the game up a notch, she agreed equally as spirited as Naruto, "― I'm game, what do you have in mind, Naruto-_kun_?"

Temari's reply by adding the –kun suffix after Naruto's name proved her readiness to play along his taunts. Not willing to lose, Naruto buckled up and grinned although behind his teasing expression, he couldn't hide the fact that he felt happy when she called him Naruto-kun.

"How about the one to lose will do whatever the winner wants?" Naruto suggested as he smirked cunningly.

As Naruto suggested his idea, thoughts began entering her mind like wild fire with most of them being naughty and perverted. Temari let out a sweat as she weighed down his proposition. If she wins, she practically gets herself a loyal dog, but if she loses, God knows what the most unpredictable ninja has in store for her. As thoughts after thoughts swam in her mind, her face would slightly flush at the naughty thoughts that kept on popping out every now and then although she also felt uneasy at the thought of losing. Temari took a swift glimpse at Naruto who seemed to be calm and composed as if he knew that he would win, making her to feel even more uneasy whether to call or to fold.

"So? Are you still _game_, Temari-_chan_?" Naruto teased back as he grinned from ear to ear. Deep inside Naruto wasn't all too confident in winning the next game. All he thought was that should she accept, he'll only have to gamble but should she not accept, he could always tease her about it later. Either way, he thought that it shouldn't be too bad for him.

Temari glared at the easy-going blond in front of her who didn't flinch or budge but grinned even wider if that was even possible. After another few seconds of thinking, Temari finally made her decision, "― fine, I'm game!"

As she stated out loud, Naruto almost fell from his bed and his grin disappear as he knew that now he'd have to gamble his pride. Temari on the other side didn't realize the change of colors in Naruto's face as she concentrated on her cards, _"it will be okay, I'm good at blackjack, I kick his ass several times already, it will be okay…"_ Temari kept on repeating in her head as if it was a mantra for victory.

Naruto just finished deal the cards and then both of them gulped to see two pair of cards lay before them, neither touched them yet. They both glanced at each other to see their facial expression only to see nervousness. Finally Naruto took both his cards followed by Temari.

Naruto peeked at his cards to see that he's got two tens.

Temari nervously looked up her cards to see that she got an Ace and a Jack.

They both looked at each other's eyes and they both looked calm and cool, feeling very confident about their cards. Temari breathed in and Naruto breathed out. Then they nodded and slowly took out their cards.

"… Blackjack…"

The room went silent for a good second before it was broken by Naruto slapping his forehead, "UWAAH! NOT AGAAIIINN!"

"I WON! HA, TAKE THAT!" Temari yelled in victory as she raised both her arms upward as if she just won the position of the best ninja of the week or something. Naruto in the other hand just lied on his bed, feeling utterly defeated his soul seemed to leave his body.

After a few minutes of euphoria and gloom, Temari moved closer to Naruto who was still lying dejectedly and then flicked his forehead, "Get a grip, will you!? Be a man and accept your loss already!"

"Ow! Oh yeah, yeah― I get it…" Naruto sighed and then smiled back, "so? What do you want?"

Temari pondered for a moment. She looked toward the window to see that there's a sandstorm outside. Temari looked mildly sad before she stood up and walked near the door to switch the lights off, "what are you doing? Going to bed already?"

"Yeah, it's getting pretty late anyway…" Temari replied as she walked slowly toward Naruto's bed.

"But, you haven't told me what you want yet…" Naruto retorted at first but soon fell silent as he felt something on his bed.

"Oh shush, I have all the time in the world to decide, now don't I? But if you insist on wanting to know, I guess I'll tell you what I want for tonight…" Temari said as she slid herself under the blanket.

"T-Temari…!?"

After she slipped in, Naruto blushed and made room for her to lie in. He could feel his heart racing as she lied beside him, "... you know, even though I like wind and I'm obviously have a wind affinity but ever since I was little, I never liked sandstorms at night, just seeing it from the window always make me feel down. That's why I always liked to sleep with my mother whenever there's a sandstorm at night― I liked to have her warmth as I sleep … and now from time to time, I'd ask Kankurou to sleep with me or Gaara now because he's changed after he met you…"

Naruto stayed silent and listened to her as she talked, "so, long story short, I don't like to sleep by myself on sandstorm nights, it gives me the chills, so… would it be alright if I you share your bed with me?"

"… Is that what you want as the winner?" Naruto asked as he was still sitting on his bed beside Temari who was already under the blanket, "― un…"

"Then your wish is my command… or something like that" Naruto replied as he gave a thumb up and grinned as wide as he could toward where he thought Temari should be. Because of the dark, they couldn't see each other although they could roughly locate where each other were.

Temari was glad that she turned the lights off first because she could feel her cheeks burning and she didn't want Naruto to see her like that. Although she couldn't see in the dark, she knew that Naruto just gave her a thumb up and an unseen wide grin, his signature fox-like grin.

"Thank you, Naruto…"

"You're welcome…" Naruto said as he was about to slip inside the blanket.

"… If you dare tell a soul about this, I'll rip your balls and stuff them up your ass, you hear me?"

Naruto shuddered and had cold sweats as immediately as he grinned, "Uh, right…"

He turned his head toward Temari's and was surprised the next second as she suddenly kissed Naruto on the cheek, "Good night…"

Naruto was speechless and although it was dark, he thought he saw Temari smiling at him, "y-yeah, good night to you too…"

A few moments later, Temari finally went into slumber but Naruto was still wide awake. He was feeling rather happy as his mind was at ease. When he looked outside the window, he could still see the sandstorm.

He was thinking of a few things before he began to doze off and then fell asleep for the first time in a few months ever since that incident. He would have a good dream, even though it would be his last.

That night was Naruto's last peaceful night as not too far away, a lone man was walking determinedly on his way toward the blond. Nobody knew that when the sun reaches the top tomorrow, that would be the sign of his last stay in Suna as the lone man was his shinigami, ready to take him away with no compassion.

* * *

_**A/N: as usual, another A/N at the end... so that's how it goes, hopefully chapter 9 won't take too long to finish, i'll try to get it done by next month, well you know the drill... haha, so yeah, thanks goes to all those who patiently waited, added this fic as favorite, alert, or whatever, until next time, holla!**_


	9. Chapter 9: The Night before the Dream

**_A/N: Okay, I owe y'all a long-overdue apology! First thang first, I apologize for this long-overdue chapter y'all been waitin' fo. As you can guess, my initial promise of one chappie per month, seem to be just words now and I know myself. Well, I never thought I'd get busier with each passing days with uni and all but... ah fuck it. Bottom line, I have to (though I really don't like it) take back my promise as I won't be able to keep it. I'm sorry. Although I promise y'all that I won't be too long in uploading a new chapter (maybe 4-5 months at most, but hopefully not half a year or a year)._**

**_Also, for those that have been wonderin' to death about what the fuck Sakura did 'that day', rejoice as you will finally get to know... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! Muahahaha!! (oh how I love to torture my dear readers, lmao). But seriously, now that everything has been put in motion, I promise you (par la tete de ma mere ou meme par la tete de toute ma famille ou meme au nom de Allah!) that next chapter, you will finally know the event which triggered all of this (so much for a plot that suck sigh)._**

**_However, I have to confess, since next week is my midterm and that I want to search for some materials for the next chapter, I'm going to have to make you wait another long, long time. I'm sorry. But just to ensure that you'll enjoy it, I'll try make it as good as I can and if in the end you're still not satisfied then... why should I care? Hahaha... no but seriously, I'm sorry._**

**_Well then, enough with my blabber, I don't think anyone's reading this A/N anyway (and I wonder why I still bother with writing it in the end... oh well). Here's the next installment of DreamReality, Chapter 9: the Night before the Dream! Freshly baked outta da oven, fellas! Enjoy!_**

**_Disclaimer: y'all know da drill, supah fly unka T owns da damn-oh-it-sucks-so-much plot onleh! ya digg!? Holla bitches!_**

* * *

_**Chapter IX: The Night before the Dream**_

Far from the all the commotions in the forest and the main gate, Sai was having his own battle. Even though he was trained for situations such as this, he still couldn't believe his eyes. There in front of him stood his mentor, Danzou, adorned in an Akatsuki robe. Sai couldn't read his mentor's expression, not only because he couldn't think clearly but also because his entire body still felt numb. Danzou smirked slightly and then pulled a stool closer so that he could sit down.

"… May I ask what you were doing in the most restricted area of Konoha's archive, _Sai_?" he asked with his usual tone.

Sai felt cold sweats all over his body. He stayed silent until he realized that he felt a long-forgotten emotion once again, just as when he met Sasuke back in one of Orochimaru's lair. Realizing the situation, Sai forcefully recomposed himself and cooled his head down. Danzou didn't seem to be bothered and gave him all the time he needed. Feeling his emotions in check, Sai looked up to see Danzou.

"Who are you?" he asked, his eyes pierced Danzou's.

Danzou smirked slightly again, looking pleased with Sai's reaction, "I'm Danzou, head of ANBU Root― and your master, the one who gave you the codename _Sai,_"

Sai's eyes twitched when he heard no distinct tone of lie. He swallowed his saliva and stared intently at the man in front of him, "you are lying,"

Danzou smiled, seemingly pleased with Sai's reply, "prove it," he replied back simply.

Sai was cornered. So far he still hasn't gotten any way to prove that the man in front of him is an imposter. Only the highest-ranked people in Konoha, namely the elders, have access to the most restricted sections throughout the entire village, beside the Hokage. Some of these restricted areas are even said to be an urban legend or non-existent by some of the elites, but those that have access knew better.

Throughout Sai's early years, Sai was brought to some restricted places by Danzou as part of his Root training. Danzou always used extra caution to train his disciples, even more when he brought them with him to some restricted areas. He always told them that they are the protector of protectors, the box inside a box. Should the protector fail, Root being the hidden protector shall take over its predecessor and fight in their place. With that reason he brought his disciples, one by one to some restricted areas to show them what the common jonin could not see in order to have a better understanding of the ground they have to protect. With his knowledge of some places, Sai could easily sneak into one of the most secret restricted areas that guarded Konoha's deepest knowledge. That method however, would certainly backfire should the one given the opportunity betray Danzou's trust, which was why he had their emotions completely shut down to prevent any betrayal.

"You can't, can you?" Danzou snickered behind his Akatsuki robe, Sai stayed silent, "― I am impressed. Even though I know that you are the brightest pupil I've ever had, but I'm still very impressed with you. You have truly learned, understood, and applied what I taught you perfectly…"

Danzou stared contently at Sai who stayed impassive.

"― No matter, in the end no living being could ever completely submit to its master. They just had to bite its master's hand at some point, just like a disloyal dog― just like you…"

Sai could feel something burn inside him. He didn't understand the painful feeling of that burning sensation and thought that it must have been one of his long gone emotions. Thinking that he had more important things to do, he discarded the burning feeling and maintained his stature which couldn't please Danzou more.

"Now that you have followed the procedure for when you are facing a betrayal just as I've taught you, let us return to my question. Just _what_ were you doing earlier? What were you looking for, _Sai_?" Danzou asked with a colder voice, hinting that his patience was wearing thin.

Sai knew that he had to answer that question no matter what if he didn't want to die. He barely opened his mouth and with a small voice he replied, "― I'm looking for high level seals," he said curtly.

"Seals, huh? What are you searching that for?" he asked back.

"I have my reasons,"

Danzou shook his head disappointingly, "no, no, no, that can't do, my boy― that was just the kind of answer that will get you an instant death. I taught you already about it, chapter five, book three…"

"― If you can't use words to persuade, counter-ask the enemy with more questions... I remember _shishou_…"

Danzou seemed pleased once again to see that his best pupil really lived up to his expectation, "very good! Well? My answer?"

Sai gritted his teeth helplessly and he knew that Danzou wasn't testing him. He knew that Danzou was completely serious. Seeing no escape, Sai knew the only thing that will ensure his safety for now is to tell him everything but no one says it's got to be entirely the truth.

"… I'm looking for any seals that have to do with tailed beasts…" he said almost in a mutter.

"Tailed beasts, huh? What would you need that for I wonder…" Danzou asked again almost in a playful manner. Sai maintained his composure.

"Well no matter, I have pretty much an idea about it. Seeing how you are looking for it now means that that girl's genjutsu is finally starting to wear off, huh? I think it's a good opportunity then," Danzou muttered to himself as he pondered which just caught Sai's attention.

"… You knew?" he asked in disbelief.

Danzou smirked and hunched forward a little, shifting his face closer to Sai's, "I may even know more than you…" he said in an amused tone which for some reason boiled Sai's insides.

"Well, no matter…" Danzou leaned back to his stool and then stared at his disciple once again, "― since I'm going to have to kill you anyway, I doubt that knowing what you don't know will benefit you either way…"

Danzou stopped for a moment to see that Sai's expression which didn't change all that much even after he was told that he's about to get killed. Danzou smirked once again and changed his tone, "― but I think I'll tell you some interesting things, just think of it as my parting gift…"

Sai still stayed calm while trying to untie himself.

"You must be wondering why a man like myself would betray Konoha, am I wrong?" he asked casually.

"One of many…" Sai replied curtly.

Danzou snickered and relaxed himself more, "well for starter, I am not betraying my village. You of all people, aside me, knows that I'll do anything to protect Konoha. At the very least, _that_ is still true until now. Other people see me as a hardliner that loves war and blood that will take extreme measures in order to protect the village. If compared with those peace-loving fools, then I am a conflict-loving fool indeed…"

Danzou paused shortly before continuing again, "― a ninja's life, in my eyes, is forever tainted and filled with conflict. We can't expect ourselves to live peacefully, to co-exist among our own. For shinobi to indulge itself in a peaceful lifestyle is the same as having a very sharp blade put on a wall just for decoration. If the blade's true function which is to cut things is gone, then what is the purpose of it being created? This is the same with us, Sai. We are shinobi, tool of war. We were taught techniques that are only used in battlefields, yet now those in powers wants us to live in peace with our enemies and rivals. Tell me where's the logic in that? They have taught us how to kill since we were only five and now they want us to live side by side with people we have an enmity with? If that is what we truly want then why were we taught how to kill? No, we were born to kill, it's proven with the fact that the children of the future are still being taught how to kill and other skills needed to be a shinobi. This just proved our purpose in life, our existence, our function! We are born to kill, we are born to destroy! _Peace_ is our true enemy. We, my boy, are born to be _shinigami_!"

Sai who was listening from the start shuddered at his mentor's thoughts although his outer appearance stayed indifferent, due to his training. He always knew that Danzou was a hardliner but he never thought that he would be this extreme. Sai let a sweat crawl in his skin then replied, "― then, you mean that we are born to kill each other? To self-destruct?"

"That's our purpose in life," Danzou replied solidly, "we are born different from those normal people that live in cities and other normal villagers. They live openly while we live in secrecy, they live peacefully while we live in endless conflict even if it's just from missions, and their children were even taught differently than ours, they learn how to count or read while our children learn how to kill or steal. It is obvious that our existence is only to eradicate our own, as long as there are ninjas around, there will always be a conflict. You can never have a shinobi living a peaceful life like those normal people out there, not even in the afterlife! Our entire life is a battlefield! Even a village is sometime compromised of different clans, there is no telling when one or two will betray the other! As long as there are differences within the clans, as a shinobi, resorting to killing is the only possibility!"

Sai cringed slightly as he even forgotten to untie himself.

Danzou calmed down for a while to catch his breath and then he continued, "― Akatsuki, their leader's vision is truly what I have yearning for. To remind shinobi of what they truly are. They can't keep on fooling themselves that they can live a peaceful life based on a puny agreement on paper. As long as we have this kind of lifestyle, we are bound to have an endless eternal enmity between ourselves until we self-destruct. Konoha, my beloved village, is heading to a dangerous path. By following Akatsuki, I can help reminding the village of its original, true purpose as a shinobi village, to wreck havoc to its enemies, to strike fear and to decimate anyone who opposes us, until the very day where the only enemy it can find is itself― that, is what the future should be…"

Sai was completely speechless.

"… That led to sixteen years ago, when I found out about Akatsuki and the one who pulls the string behind their figurative leader. At first I couldn't believe my eyes but when I saw _his_ eyes, it couldn't be wrong. The greatest shinobi Konoha, no, the entire world has ever seen, Uchiha Madara…"

Sai reacted swiftly at the mention of the name by having his eyes and ears focusing even more to Danzou.

Danzou smirked, already anticipating his reaction, "― yes, I know it's hard to believe but it's the truth. I'm sure you already know his story, when he was believed to be dead after his defeat against Shodaime, he actually survived― until this day. I don't have the slightest idea how he survived but it was him, the one that appeared before me that day. Orochimaru also joined Akatsuki at some point he even managed to become one of its main member because he already defected that time and as I was still inside the village, I acted as a spy. One day however, the jutsu-obsessed fool left Akatsuki after he lost against Itachi who joined after I introduced him to them. I knew that obsessed freak has always had a deep hatred toward Sarutobi, so did I, since he's a peace-loving fool. When I knew that he was planning to attack Konoha, I decided to help him since one of his plans was to kill Sarutobi. I was all up for it. But I was against him destroying this village until Madara's plan was to put in action, which will be happening very soon. In the end I doubled-crossed him, I only helped him in getting Sarutobi while I killed his invading army. And now, the time is near, soon, the entire shinobi world will realize that they all have made a mistake and everything shall return to what it used to be― the fourth big shinobi war is well on its way…"

Danzou ended his story silently. Sai too stayed silent. Danzou stared at his beloved pupil to see if he could still have use of him. He never really wished to take the life of his dearest pupil. Sai's reaction however, sealed the fate.

After a solemn silent, Sai looked up and showed an angered expression on his face, coloring his usual pale and expressionless face. Danzou who saw it sighed sadly and stood up.

"… I had hoped that you would understand…" he began, Sai just glared, "― but I guess you chose a different path in the end…"

Sai didn't respond and was already in the middle of trying to untie himself again. Danzou seemed to not notice Sai's stealthy movements as he continued, "― what made you lose your way, Sai? Is it that filthy fox kid? It is, isn't it?"

Hearing Danzou's mention of Naruto made Sai stop temporarily and turned his glare into a softer, almost pitying gaze, "… Naruto-kun is anything but filthy, _Shishou_…!"

Danzou swiftly took out a very sharp katana, swung it upward and let it hang for a second before striking down the next second with all he's got.

Sai just gazed calmly at the incoming blade that's aiming his neck as he allowed a fragment of second to call out the very first true friend he ever had.

"… _Naruto-kun…"_

* * *

The sound of metals clashed strongly and caused bright sparks in the dark forest. The Uchiha brothers have been throwing shuriken at each other for some time while jumping around for both defense and offense purposes. In the thick darkness, not only sparks of clashing metals could be seen but also the ominous glow of two pairs of red eyes, dancing around, facing each other in company of the flashing of harmless sparks. When their shuriken reserve was finished, they strike head-on at each other. Sasuke took out his Kusanagi sword while Itachi took out a kunai from inside his robe. Another clash could be heard as it was accompanied by a brief spark and silence ensued once again. After holding ground, they jumped back only to strike again. The two thrust their weapons at each other but managed to stop it by holding each other's wrists with their free hand. The two held their ground yet once again.

"_Itachi_…!" Sasuke's voice trembled with anger as he hatefully said the name through his gritted teeth while glaring furiously with his blazing Sharingan eyes. Itachi in the other hand stayed cool and composed as he just stared coldly at his little brother before releasing himself from Sasuke's hold, freeing him in the process. The two jumped back a bit again and stood on guard on a different tree branch, staring into each other's eyes, trying to figure out what's the other's thinking.

"You truly have become stronger, little brother…" Itachi suddenly said, ticking off the avenger in the process, "SHUT UP! What do you know about me!? You know nothing, nothing of my suffering and pain!"

Itachi lowered his guard and stared calmly at his enraged little brother, "― probably not, but at least I know something about you― you are my _light_, Sasuke,"

Unconsciously Sasuke too lowered his guard as he stared in confusion at his older brother, "light? What are you talking about?"

Kakashi who was still resting to restore his Sharingan heard their conversation while watching carefully from the sides, _"_― _light? Could he mean…?"_

Itachi stared his little brother a little suspiciously, "have you gone to that secret meeting place I've told you about on that day?" Sasuke stared silently at his big brother and nodded, "― I have,"

"Then you should know what I'm talking about," Itachi said but Sasuke showed an even more confused look, earning Itachi's groan as he muttered exasperatedly, "God, you're an idiot, foolish little brother…"

"Hey, who are you calling an idiot!? I don't care about all that! My only goal is to kill―" before Sasuke could finish his sentence, Itachi made his move by pinning Sasuke against the tree, "UWAAGH!"

Itachi punched him in the gut and weakened him, Sasuke coughed after the impact as he winced in pain and accidentally dropped his sword, "― you may not have these eyes yet but it was never mentioned anywhere that it must be a mangekyou either, I'm not waiting any longer, Sasuke. I'm taking my light…"

Itachi's fingers were inches away from Sasuke's right eye. When it touched the skin, Sasuke began to panic, "h-hey, what the hell are you doing!?" Itachi just stayed calm as he replied coolly, "like I said, I'm taking my light, _foolish little brother_,"

"… And that's as far as you can go, Itachi…"

Kakashi suddenly appeared behind Itachi who was caught off-guard as a kunai held by Kakashi was dangerously touching Itachi's neck. Itachi suddenly stopped his movement as he peeked from the corner of his eyes to an unseen Kakashi who was behind him, panting slightly due to the Sharingan effect.

"… Kakashi-san, I believe I've already told you to keep out of this, have I not? This is a family matter. Outsider should not poke their nose in it, and beside you can't beat me, at least not with your eye…" Itachi stated calmly although his fingers were still dangerously close to Sasuke's right eye.

Kakashi smirked behind his mask and replied cheekily, "― fuh, are you afraid about my eye or something? Look, why don't you activate that mangekyou of yours and we'll see which is better…"

Itachi reacted swiftly by shifting his head a little bit while Sasuke almost got his eyeball plucked accidentally as he inched forward in surprise.

"… You are saying as if you have obtained that mangekyou as well, Kakashi-san…" Itachi said calmly although his face slightly showed surprise. Kakashi smirked again behind his mask, lowered the kunai he was holding, and backed off a little bit. Itachi and Sasuke had their full attention toward him.

The two Uchiha brothers were now facing Kakashi. Itachi had lowered his hand from Sasuke's right eye and turned around to face the copy-nin, unconcern with his little brother while Sasuke did the same.

"You show me yours, I'll show you mine," Kakashi offered almost in a carefree manner. After a few seconds of thinking, Itachi complied by activating his mangekyou. Sasuke was glued in place as he felt the old and familiar sensation in front of him.

"I'm waiting…" Itachi said almost in a mocking manner. Kakashi closed his left eye for a few seconds before reopening it and revealed his mangekyou. Both Itachi and Sasuke were surprised to say the least. Never have they thought that someone who's not even an Uchiha could possibly awaken the highest eye technique of their clan which only a few could do. As they stood on spot, time seemingly stopped for the three of them. Little did they know, a very tall young man with spiky hair stood right behind them on the adjacent branch blocked by the trunk. The man was smirking widely.

* * *

Back in Konoha, Tsunade had already begun the operation of her perverted old teammate, Jiraiya. The frog Sennin was in a very critical condition as with each minute passed, his heart rate dropped slowly.

While trying to treat his injuries, Tsunade muttered to herself as tears were dangerously building up in her eyes, "― don't you dare die on me, you perverted bastard. I didn't even give you the necklace, you perverted old fart!"

The operation had begun not too long ago, yet due to so many critical wounds all over him, Tsunade couldn't decide on which to treat first. That doubled with a distraction of some old memories about her loved ones caused her concentration to fade. With each minute passed and Jiraiya's pulse fading as well as the blood pouring from his horrible wounds, Tsunade's old fear of blood began to slowly resurface although she refused to succumb, at least for now.

"Tsunade-sama! Jiraiya-sama's pulse is starting to drop faster than before!" one of her operating assistant panicked. Tsunade snapped back to reality and once again her concentration was back, "help me heal the wounds on his legs! Pay extra attention to the veins and his torn muscle tissues! Hurry up, damn it!"

"Y-yes!"

As the two other medics began to heal Jiraiya's lower half, Tsunade tried to close the big wound on his chest. As she tried to heal the wound, she felt a bad premonition as her heart pound.

"_Kami, don't you dare take him away from me now!"_

* * *

"What!? Hokage-sama is at the hospital!?" Shikamaru shouted in disbelief and then clicked his tongue, "chi, how troublesome…"

Shikamaru rested his hand on his hips, thought of something and then looked up to the woman in front of him, "… to have Tsunade-sama going at the hospital in this situation― I find it strange, Shizune-san. Did something happen?"

The woman, who was indeed Shizune, winced at Shikamaru's question. Unsure, she hesitantly replied, "… actually, it's about Jiraiya-sama…"

At the mention of Jiraiya's name, Shikamaru suddenly got more focused, more alert, "Jiraiya-sama!? What happened?"

Shizune was still hesitant on telling him since she didn't want to cause uproar by having rumors of Jiraiya's condition running wild throughout the village but when she thought over, it was Shikamaru that she's talking to. Surely he is dependable and reliable, not only that but he would certainly know how to act accordingly. After making her mind, Shizune opened her mouth and spoke up.

"… Jiraiya-sama, he's― critically wounded and is currently being operated by Tsunade-sama at the hospital…"

Shikamaru felt as if a thunder had struck him after hearing Shizune's revelation, a sweat slowly crawled on Shikamaru's cheek while his eyes went wide.

"What!? J-Jiraiya-sama is…!?"

* * *

Around Sakura's residence, the neighborhood was deadly calm. No movement could be seen apart a few trash being blown away by the night wind. Because Sakura's house was a bit far from the gate, the group didn't notice the loud commotion that happened not too long ago. Everyone still stood firmly on guard, watching carefully from behind the shadows at the numerous yet harmless traps lying around.

Ino was watching sternly as she observed the small road ahead of her to the smallest detail. When she noticed a figure walking down the road, she narrowed her eyes to see who it was only to be surprised, _"Hinata!? Is that Hinata!? What is she doing here!?"_

It didn't take her a long time to remember that she should stop Hinata from moving closer if she didn't want her to activate a trap. Ino quickly took a shuriken from her holster and threw it as fast as she took it a few inches in front of Hinata. The shy Hyuuga heiress yelped when a shuriken hit the ground inches away from her toes. She did expect Ino to do something once she noticed her presence though she certainly did not expect her to throw a shuriken at her. As if on cue, Ino spoke up almost in a mutter, "Hinata? Are you Hinata?"

Hinata acted surprised and nervously replied, "y-yes, it's me. Is that― Ino-san?"

Ino glanced at where Hinata was standing and then examined her carefully. Believing she's the real Hinata, Ino came out of her hiding place and waved a hand at her shy friend, "hey Hinata! Sorry I had to throw a shuriken at you, if I didn't, you'd set up a trap and we both wouldn't like that, do we? Anyway, just use your Byakugan to locate the traps. Shikamaru and I had set up so many traps I already forgot where I've put some of mine, teehee…"

While Ino grinned sheepishly, Hinata just sweat dropped, "o-okay…"

After Hinata passed all the traps and was now in front of Ino, the Hyuuga heiress hunched forward to catch her breath as she had to sometime jump forward to avoid a large trap. While she caught her breath, she could faintly feel some movement underneath her. Hinata then saw her shadow to move slightly until it got a lighter color of black.

"_They must have made their move…"_ she thought.

"Hinata?" Ino asked abruptly, surprising the white eyed hime, "h-hai!"

"Are you alright?" Ino asked as she eyed her timid friend with worry, "y-yes, I'm alright― um, w-where are the others, Ino-san?"

Hinata already knew where the others were as she was briefed by Ibiki but she just asked to stall Ino from being suspicious of any strange movements and to ultimately give the Tokubetsu ANBU enough time to retrieve Sakura from her room.

Ino sighed as she rested her hands on her hips then she began to explain, "well, we're pretty much scattered around wide forehead's house and that lazy bum Shikamaru is on his way to see Hokage-sama but he's still not back yet which worries me since the Hokage's Tower isn't that far away…"

Hinata fidgeted slightly and nodded in response, "I-I see, how long has he been gone?"

Ino put her index finger on her chin as she pondered, "mm, I'm not sure, maybe around fifteen to thirty minutes, forty tops I guess…"

As she pondered, she looked up and accidentally saw a very fast movement that went through the full moon. Ino blinked in surprise and then brushed her eyes. Without further ado, she looked around in alert and then pulled a kunai for safeguard. Seeing Ino's sudden reaction worried Hinata. She feared that Ino may have accidentally noticed about the Tokubetsu ANBU and quickly decided to distract her blonde friend, "w-what's the matter, Ino-san!?"

"Hinata, stay close to me!" Ino only replied, half-orderly as she closed the gap between her and Hinata slowly. Hinata let out a small 'eh?' in confusion as she fidgeted nervously, not knowing what to do. Ino was still looking around vigilantly for anything suspicious.

Suddenly, Hinata could feel something creeping from underneath her. She looked down to see that her shadow was back to its original dark color before she met Ino, _"they're back!"_

Looking at Ino who was oblivious to her strange movements, Hinata knew that there's only one thing to do if she was to complete her mission swiftly, "… I'm sorry, Ino-san…"

"Eh?" Ino managed to say when she was about to face the Hyuuga heiress although before she could, Hinata had struck Ino's neck faster, rendering the blonde unconscious. Hinata grabbed the falling blonde and lied her down gently on the ground. After she stood up, she stared at an unconscious Ino with guilt before turning around and head back into the shadows, where Ibiki and the rest were waiting.

As she landed on a random building's rooftop, obscure enough to conceal a group of people, Ibiki and his Tokubetsu ANBU revealed themselves. Hinata's shadow began to move by itself and then two Tokubetsu ANBU came out from it, one of them was holding Sakura bridal-style. As if on cue, one of the two Tokubetsu ANBU who just returned kneeled down to give his report.

"Report, Ibiki-taichou!"

"Mm," Ibiki replied simply.

"Target has been successfully acquired and the replacement has been successfully put in place but Yamanaka Ino has accidentally caught our movements…"

"What!?"

The ANBU that reported waited until Ibiki motioned him to continue, "― after we have returned inside Hyuuga-sama's shadows, Hyuuga-sama knocked Yamanaka unconscious. Possible breach of mission, request new orders…"

Ibiki gritted his teeth behind his mask but he knew what to do, "we have our target, Haruno Sakura. Proceed with our primary mission which is to bring her to Hokage-sama. You, "Ibiki pointed at the one who reported, "― bring back our replacement and return to the Hokage Tower, the rest follow me!"

They all nodded in understanding and did as they were told to. Before Ibiki jumped away he glanced at Hinata who trembled. Her expression suggested that she was afraid that she might have compromised the mission, "Ibiki-san, I…"

Ibiki didn't let her finish and spoke up, "― good work, Hinata-san. Let us go. We do not have much time before Shikamaru returns…"

Ibiki turned away and then jumped away, followed by his team and Hinata followed behind closely, still trembling slightly. Along the way, Ibiki allowed himself a single thought, _"_― _how the hell did this get so messed up!?"_

* * *

Far, far away from Konoha, in the cold and dark desert of Kaze no Kuni, a lone man was walking steadily. The bright moonlight shone his already shining hair with his piercings reflecting the lights and small desert breezes blowing away his robe every now and then.

Then it came to view. A solid rocky valley stood firmly in front of him, the entrance to Sunagakure no Sato. The man stopped momentarily to observe the valley silently from afar. He knew that he was close to his destination.

"… Uzumaki… Naruto…"

* * *

Back in the obscure forest of Hi no Kuni, the showdown between sharingan users was just beginning with the participation of the infamous copy ninja, Kakashi, or so everyone thought. With both Kakashi and Itachi staring at each other's mangekyou while Sasuke could only stare dumbfounded at his brother's back and his former teacher's left eye. Karin and Suigetsu who were spectators, watching from the sidelines thought that the fight will inevitably go on for a while longer, especially since they have yet to see the perfected sharingan's powers. While staring in awe only did Karin realized something and asked her teammate, Suigetsu.

"Ne, Suigetsu, aren't we supposed to prevent anyone from disrupting Sasuke-kun's fight against his brother?"

As if Karin just said something unbelievably stupid, Suigetsu replied half-mockingly with an arched brow, "― you want to stop that Kakashi dude? Why, by all means, please do― if you want to be the victim of his mangekyou that is…"

Karin growled as she threw curses at Suigetsu who just shrugged and returned his attention back toward the sharingan users. While Karin was throwing curses after curses, another thought crossed her mind concerning her other teammate who was awfully quiet.

"― Speaking of which, why are you so quiet, Jyuu-…" she stopped in the middle when she realized that he was, in fact, not beside her anymore, "― areh?"

"Oh shit…" Suigetsu suddenly cursed, getting Karin's attention as his tone showed some fear. Karin, confused, looked at where Suigetsu was looking and then frowned as her eyes went wide.

"Oh shit…" Karin swore in return when she saw what Suigetsu was seeing.

What they saw was indeed the three sharingan users, standing on the same branch while on the branch adjacent to them, on the other side blocked by the tree, stood their tall teammate with an activated cursed seal, ready to wreak havoc and nobody but Suigetsu and Karin noticed.

"… So― still want to prevent _anyone else_ from butting into Sasuke's fight?" Suigetsu asked Karin, half-teasingly.

Karin shook her head slowly while still having her eyes fixed forward, "… on a second thought― I guess not…"

"Wise choice, better stay on the sidelines, being spectators than being dragged into a fight between freaks― hahaha…" Suigetsu joked but Karin just raised an eyebrow as she stared at him from the corner of her eyes in disbelief, _"_― _you're one yourself, you stupid kappa freak…"_

While the Sharingan users were all focused on each other, oblivious to their surrounding, Jyuugo who was slowly but surely completing his second level of cursed seal kept on murmuring while having his eyes fixed forward to where he thought his preys were.

"… Kill… KILL!"

* * *

Shikamaru ran frantically from the Hokage Tower toward where his comrades were. He was began to get more worried with each passing minutes after he heard about the white-haired Sannin's condition, _"shit! Why now, of all times!?"_

As he ran as fast as he could back to Sakura's house, Shikamaru noticed a group of people going his way although he just shrugged it off, thinking that it might just be another ANBU platoon on patrol. Unfortunately, Shikamaru also didn't notice a certain girl running along the pack as she was more or less concealed from outside view. Shikamaru only gave a quick glance toward the group when they were adjacent though still pretty far from each other to have a clear view. So did Ibiki behind his mask. After that split second glance, Shikamaru looked forward and sped off.

A Tokubetsu ANBU who was behind Ibiki scooted closer and whispered in his ear, _"taichou, should we let him go?"_

Ibiki nodded as he too looked forward as if nothing ever happened, "… yes, our top priority is to secure Haruno Sakura, our target, we can always deal with Shikamaru later…"

The Tokubetsu ANBU nodded and stayed silent afterward.

A few minutes later, a panting Shikamaru just arrived at the scene and his eyes suddenly shot wide as he found his female teammate, Ino, lying on the ground immobile.

"INO!"

Shikamaru rushed toward the lying blonde while dodging all the traps they made. He quickly checked for her pulse and when he felt it, sighed in relief, "thank God you're alright…"

He looked around to check if everything was alright. After making sure everything was safe, Shikamaru laid her on the ground gently and took off to see the others. He knew that he had to get the others first before going back to the Hokage Tower, assuming that Sakura was brought there. He swiftly contacted the rest of the team and had them gather at where Ino was. Fortunately, when they arrived, Ino was starting to regain consciousness.

Shikamaru who noticed right away swiftly went to support her and bombarded her with questions, "Ino, are you alright? What happened?"

Ino who still felt slightly numb stared emptily at Shikamaru, "… Shikamaru?"

Ino suddenly winced in pain and quickly placed her hand on the back of her neck, "uuh…!"

"Ino! Are you alright!?" Shikamaru pressed on again, feeling worried.

Ino waved her hand and replied weakly, "― I'm fine, but tell me... what happened? Why are you all here?"

"That should be our question― Shikamaru, why are you gathering us here? And why was Ino lying on the ground?" Kiba suddenly asked with impatience with his usual rude attitude, the others had the same expression as him, confusion.

"Before I tell you why, I need to ask what happened to Ino first― Ino, do you remember what happened?" he asked as he gently held her shoulders. Ino frowned as she dug into her memories, "… mm, I'm not sure, all I remember is― oh, Hinata!"

All eyes were immediately set toward Ino, all of them had a very surprised expression pasted on their face, except Kiba and Neji. They were more shocked than surprised.

"Hinata-sama!?" Neji said.

"Hinata!?" Kiba said as he raised an eyebrow.

"What about Hinata? Did you see her?" Tenten asked.

Ino gulped and replied, "I did. She was alone― after I made sure that she's really Hinata, we talked a bit and then I noticed some movements from above… I told Hinata to stay close to me since she didn't seem to bring any weapons with her― then…"

Ino stopped for a moment, unsure if she should continue or not. Only when Neji yelled did she continue.

"Then what, Yamanaka!?"

Ino shuddered slightly at Neji's scowl but Shikamaru's tighter hold calmed her down, "―then, she hit me from the back…"

Neji and Kiba were the first to protest, "IMPOSSIBLE!"

Shikamaru and the rest couldn't believe their ears as well but he refused to blindly accuse her, he didn't even have any proof of what she's saying true or false. All he knew was one thing, Ino was attacked and that would mean that his assumption was correct, they took Sakura. Then Neji's howl awoken Shikamaru from his thoughts.

"Stop saying lies, Yamanaka! Hinata-sama wouldn't do such a thing! Even now, she must be in her room!" Neji roared as he felt as if Ino just insulted him.

"Neji, calm down…" Shikamaru said as he tried to cool his friend's head down but Kiba joined in, "he's right, Shikamaru! How could we even believe what Ino just said!? It could've been her who betrayed us, seeing her past relation to Sakura!"

"B-but I'm not lying! I swear!" Ino said defensively as tears were almost visible in the corner of her eyes.

"LIES!" Kiba roared as Neji just glared icily at Ino.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Shikamaru yelled, breaking the tension.

Everyone had their eyes on Shikamaru now. The Nara genius looked back to his comrades and then let out a big sigh, "… look, this is getting out of hand right now. I don't know if Ino's telling the truth or rather I can't say Ino lied since one she was really unconscious when I found her and two, she's not the kind of person who would tell lies to her friends…"

They all still had their eyes on Shikamaru and most of them couldn't say anything since they too knew that he was right, and then he continued, "― beside that is not important right now, I think they have taken Sakura and I'm assuming they're heading toward the Hokage Tower…"

Everyone had their eyes wide at Shikamaru's revelation, temporarily diverting their attention away from Ino back to him.

"I couldn't find Tsunade-sama as she― seems to have her hands busy at the moment with a more important issue, so after Shizune-san told me the situation, I ran as fast as I could here…" Shikamaru finished and waited until everyone understood what he said. He was hesitant in telling them about Jiraiya but then decided that it wouldn't be wise to and that he'll tell them at another opportunity.

"… Fine, so what is your plan now, Shikamaru?" Neji huffed, crossing his arms as he glared at Ino from the corner of his eyes. Ino just cowered slightly but Shikamaru's arm kept her feel safe.

Shikamaru looked to the ground for a moment before addressing the rest with conviction, "We'll go to the Hokage Tower, I have a pretty bad feeling about tonight― we'll meet with Shizune-san and see what we can do later…"

"… Fine, but I want to check-up on Hinata-sama first. You guys go ahead, I'll catch up later― and if I see Hinata-sama in her room as I know that she is, that'll be the end of you, _Yamanaka_…" Neji stated threateningly as he prepared to jump but then Shikamaru stopped him.

"Stop, Neji! You are not going anywhere. We have to stick together for now― this is a big misunderstanding already, we don't need a bigger one…" Shikamaru said after he sat Ino down and stood up to stop his teammate.

Neji stopped in his track and then glared from the corner of his eyes, "… you believe what that girl said?"

Shikamaru glared back and replied with conviction, "every word,"

The two geniuses locked in a glaring contest but then Neji huffed soon after and turned around to walk to where his teammates were standing. When he was right beside Shikamaru, he murmured so softly, only those that were near them could hear, "fine, you're the leader― just don't make mistakes like last time…"

Shikamaru looked down in guilt and replied after Neji passed him and Ino who was still sitting on the ground, "… yeah― I know…"

After making one last preparation check, meaning to remove the traps, everyone jumped to the nearest rooftop and began running as fast as they could toward the Hokage Tower with an uneasy feeling. Ibiki, Hinata, and the Tokubetsu ANBU meanwhile, were nearing the Hokage tower. Along the way, Shikamaru positioned himself between Neji and Ino while on her other side was Chouji. Even though he knew that Neji won't do anything stupid like aggressing her, but he didn't want to take the chances no matter how small they were. Shaking his head, Shikamaru focused on his primary goal, to get to the Hokage tower.

Just as they were midway, Ino was in deep thought although she was also careful while running. Something had been bugging her ever since she felt better. Shikamaru, who noticed Ino's frown, asked her if she was okay, "Are you alright, Ino?"

Ino nodded absentmindedly, "mm, I'm just wondering about something…"

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

Ino felt uneasy to talk about it since Neji was still close by and he could overhear but when she looked into Shikamaru's trusting eyes, Ino decided to tell him after all, "It's about Hinata. When I saw her, I'm absolutely sure it was truly Hinata. When she came to me, though, she seemed somewhat exhausted. I asked her if she's alright, she said she's fine and then for some reason she asked me where the others were. Well I kind of did tell her that you and I laid some traps around but― I've never mentioned about the rest…"

Shikamaru's eyes widened. It didn't take him an eternity to figure out what Ino meant, "Shit…"

Neji who was not too far from him heard and asked, "What's wrong?"

Since Neji asked in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, it did catch everyone's attention and they all landed on a random rooftop and had their eyes on Shikamaru yet once again. Shikamaru looked down for a minute before looking back to each and every one of them.

"I think we might have a problem. Assuming that Hinata really was there, it is highly probable that she's with some higher power. From what Ino said to me, it looks as if Hinata already knew that we were guarding Sakura's place. If she knew, how? She didn't meet any of us recently. Hence there are only two possibilities. One, Hinata is siding with said higher power, possibly ANBU, or two, she's under a genjutsu of said ANBU. I can't see it otherwise…" Shikamaru began to explain. Everyone had their face filled with shock as no one could say a word.

"B-but Shikamaru, why would you assume that? What did Hinata say to Ino that you would think like that?" Chouji asked.

"Ino said that after she motioned Hinata to come closer, she told her that she and I placed many traps and then she asked Ino, where were the others?" Shikamaru replied. Most of them seemed to understand at once too.

"Then! It would certainly seem suspicious! Why would Hinata ask Ino where the others were and not why she did it, right?" Tenten exclaimed as she landed her right fist on her left palm.

Shikamaru nodded, "exactly, thinking about it, Hinata would certainly be the best bait for us to lower our guards, not to mention that Kiba would have already smelled her a block away…"

Kiba came into a realization, "come to think of it, I think I may have smelled her scent…"

"Beside, why would she take Sakura anyway? It won't benefit her in any way! I think she's being controlled under a strong genjutsu. I can't see it any other way…" Shikamaru finished. The rest had cold sweat on the new revelation they just received.

Neji was indifferent although he did not deny the possibility of Shikamaru's reasoning. As he stared at him, Neji huffed and brought everyone's attention to him, "if that's the case, then whoever is controlling her shall regret being ever born…"

Without further ado, Neji turned back and jumped forward, Shikamaru stopped him, "Neji! What are you doing!?"

Neji landed on another rooftop and spoke as he backed them, "I'm sorry Shikamaru, but if what you said is true, then I can't just sit around and wait while my family's being used, be it main or branch house. Also, I apologize, Yamanaka…"

Ino stared at Neji's back, unsure at how to respond.

"Neji…!" Shikamaru tried to get him back but then Lee put a hand on his shoulder, "do not worry Shikamaru-kun, we'll just do a little detour and after we make sure that it's all just as you said, we'll return to the Hokage tower. I and Tenten will make sure that nothing happens to Neji-kun!"

"Lee…"

"Beside, we shouldn't take long, so do not worry, Shikamaru-kun!" Lee assured Shikamaru as he gave the good guy pose. After reluctantly agreeing in letting them make a detour, Lee and Tenten jumped to where Neji was and without looking back, the three made their way.

Kiba who has calmed down asked, "So? Should we get going as well?"

"… Yeah" Shikamaru simply said. Seeing Shikamaru's gaze, Shino took the lead and brought Kiba along, leaving Shikamaru and his team. When Chouji was about to follow them, Shikamaru stopped him.

"Wait, Chouji!" he called almost in a murmur.

"W-what is it, Shikamaru?" the Nara genius' best friend asked.

Ino had a confused look on her face.

"Listen up― actually I don't think Hinata's being controlled at all. Ino, you said you were absolutely sure that it was Hinata, correct?" Shikamaru asked in urgency, earning a swift nod from his blonde teammate.

"Did she say anything weird when you talked to her?"

"I-I don't think so, she acted just like how she would normally― oh! Wait, I think I remembered something before she knocked me out…" Ino said as she dug into her memories.

Shikamaru and Chouji looked at her pressingly, "what? What did she say!?"

"I think― she said she's… sorry," Ino said as she stared at Shikamaru who in turn turned pale.

"Shikamaru?" Chouji called.

"It's just as I feared…" Shikamaru said.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Chouji and Ino asked in confusion.

"Listen, a person who is put under a controlling-type genjutsu, or at least as far as I know, would never show its emotions, although granted, there are genjutsus that are able to do that but it's so complicated a normal ANBU personnel won't be able to do it, only specialists like Kurenai-sensei could. If you said that her movements and characters were exactly as the normal Hinata that we all know, plus the fact that she 'apologized' before knocking you out means that she's doing it out of her own free will, she's not being controlled under any kind of genjutsu whatsoever…" Shikamaru explained, earning a shocked expression from his teammates.

"B-but then…!" Chouji began and Shikamaru nodded as he continued, "I fear it is highly probable that Hinata's siding with this higher power which I doubt is only the ANBU, no, it's got to be something even greater than that, some secret element from the inside but what!? Although I am pretty sure, no matter how mysterious these guys are, assuming they are a platoon, they must still be under Hokage-sama, which is why we have to see her…"

Still shocked, Ino finally snapped and asked Shikamaru, "then what are we waiting for? We should tell them the―…"

Shikamaru cut her through, "― the truth? I don't think so, this situation is better than to return to our earlier misunderstanding. If Kiba and Neji were to hear this, they would most likely be enraged and I wouldn't know what to do to calm them down…"

The three stayed silent for a while. Unable to find a solution, they decided to follow Shino and try to find a solution on the way only to be surprised by the fact that he and Kiba didn't actually go too far, just enough to still hear them talking.

"S-Shino! Kiba!" Shikamaru yelled in surprise.

"What are you guys doing here!? We thought you guys were already far ahead!" Ino asked.

Shino, crossed armed, looked at Shikamaru from behind his sunglasses, ignoring Ino in the process, "… Shikamaru, did you really think we'd lose our head just for that reason?" Shino asked straightforwardly, startling Shikamaru, "huh?"

"Did you think that Neji wouldn't get what you were thinking the moment you explained what you thought?" Shino asked again, Shikamaru stayed silent.

"W-what do you mean, Shino?" Ino asked nervously.

"Why, I had a feeling that Neji quickly understood the implication of your reasoning. In my opinion he already established the fact that Hinata really was there and that she was not being controlled under a genjutsu, why you ask? Because he believed that his family is not that weak as to let one of their members be taken under control by a genjutsu in their own house― assuming that Hinata is in her house," Shino explained nonchalantly, Shikamaru's eyes shot wide at that fact.

"I believe without even having to hear Ino say that Hinata was sorry before she knocked her unconscious, Neji must have already deducted that Hinata would most probably siding with our 'enemy'. Even the reason, as to why he's heading home right now, is probably to prove that Hinata's really siding with the other side, they are after all, in the same family…"

Shikamaru looked down and smirked dejectedly, "… I can't believe in my own short-sightedness, how could I not see that?"

"Yeah, you should know that Hinata isn't the type of person who would do something without any reason. There might be some circumstances which made her siding with this 'higher power slash ANBU' group…" Kiba said curtly as he threw his face away, the fact that he did smell Hinata's scent back then and not do anything about it, frustrated him. He began to think that he may be getting overly used with having to Hinata's scent around him.

"Shikamaru, believe in us, and we'll believe in you. You are after all, the one who's leading us. With Naruto's absence, we only have you to rely to, for maintaining the mood of the team. If the leader's feeling unsecure, so will his subordinates…" Shino finished.

Shikamaru smirked and then looked up, "man, I really got owned, huh? But thanks anyway, Shino, Kiba..."

"So? What are we going to do? Go to Neji's house and prevent him to go berserk if say, 'the other side' has prepared a replacement for Hinata, or we head there?" Kiba asked nonchalantly as his thumb pointed toward the Hokage tower, ignoring what Shikamaru just said.

"We head to the Hokage tower, our main purpose right now is to gather the right information and the Hokage tower is the place. If possible, we should also look for Tsunade-sama since she should be the only one who knows about this matter, being Sakura's master and all…" Shikamaru began with conviction.

Then Chouji continued, "― beside, there is also a high probability that Sakura's being brought there, right, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru nodded, "that's right, so let's go! We've wasted enough time here. I can just hope that Neji will be alright though…"

The other nodded silently before continuing their way to the Hokage tower.

"… _Not only that but I'm also beginning to worry about Sai, he hasn't contacted me ever since we went our separate ways… I hope he's not caught…"_

* * *

Not too far from where Shikamaru and the rest were, Neji and his team were running toward the Hyuuga compound while also avoiding ANBU patrols, if possible. Tenten then curiously asked Neji.

"Hey Neji, do you really think that Shikamaru's right?"

"…" Neji stayed silent for a while and then abruptly stopped, surprising his two teammates who were following right behind him.

"I think he's right to some degree, I can't see it any other way either. I know that Yamanaka isn't the kind of person who would lie and if she said that Hinata-sama was there, then she was there, not to mention that she's a mind-technique user, she won't be easily controlled, thus it simply means that Hinata-sama really was there. Though it came into my mind, why would she be there? If she was to be under a genjutsu, then everything would be fine as I would tell Hiashi-sama later but I know that it's not possible since I'm sure that she's in the vicinity of the Hyuuga barrier…"

"Hyuuga barrier?" Lee asked.

"It's a special barrier that the Hyuuga clan put around our compound to ensure that any kind of genjutsu attempt would be immediately found. Not only genjutsu but you can say it's just for security, a protective barrier that only the main house could control. Assuming that Hinata-sama was in her room the entire time, it would be impossible for any shinobi to try to penetrate that barrier without being discovered. If that is already out of the option, then there's only one possibility left, right? She did it on her own― for what purpose I do not know, but I will certainly make sure that I'd at least get some information about this…"

With a high conviction, Neji ran forward again, followed closely by his two teammates.

"_Beside, I know that Hinata-sama isn't the type of person who would do something without any reason. Either way, should there be a replacement if Hinata-sama really went on her own accord, I'll be sure to get every ounce of information I can get from it…"_

* * *

Inside the operating room, desperation and fear began to accumulate faster and faster, filling it to the ceiling. Tsunade, who was leading the operation, began to reach her peak. Seeing that nothing she tried work, Tsunade's slowly starting to feel desperate. She has been working on the wound on Jiraiya's chest for a while, yet every time she managed to slowly close the gapping slash, it would re-open again and let some blood gushing out.

This constant failure finally made her lose her patience and focus, "damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! WHY WON'T IT CLOSE!? WHY WON'T THE WOUND CLOSE, DAMN IT!?" she yelled as she punched the operating table in frustration, shocking her two assistants in the process.

Shaking her thoughts away, Tsunade tried once more. At first she felt as if this time it would work, however it gave the same result in the end. Tsunade growled in irritation as she formed a fist and was about ready to punch something but her legs became wobbly all of a sudden. Losing balance, Tsunade fell to the ground. One of her assistant saw it and quickly went to her aid. Tsunade's face was pale, her eyes tiredly half-opened. Her face was covered in blood but she couldn't see it, then she looked at her hand which was also covered in blood. At last, Tsunade looked down to the floor which strangely felt damp. She slowly narrowed her eyes and noticed that it was Jiraiya's blood. Tsunade trembled as she saw her hands diving into the pool of blood in order to support her body weight. Her shaking became more ferocious as she locked her eyes into the pool of her teammate's blood. Then without warning, tears began to flow down her pale cheeks. When she turned to look at the operating table, she cringed when she saw an immobile body covered in blood on the operating table.

Fear already engulfed the busty Kage, when she tried to reach for her necklace for comfort however she noticed that it wasn't there. Then memories of the time when she first met Naruto began flicking in her mind. Tsunade gritted her teeth and shook her head to clear her mind. After making sure that she was fine, she slowly crawled toward the operating table. One of her assistant noticed and urged her to take a rest. Tsunade didn't listen. She kept on crawling until she reached the operating table and supported herself on its edge. She panted heavily as tears kept on flowing down her pale, blood-stained cheeks and a few teardrops fell onto her bloody hands.

Tsunade's assistants could only look helplessly as she kept on trying to get closer to Jiraiya's body while supporting herself at the same time.

"… Hey… old fool― wake up, damn it…" she said weakly, almost in a mutter but Jiraiya stayed immobile.

Receiving no response, Tsunade tried again with more force, "―WAKE THE HELL UP, GODDAMN IT! YOU PROMISED ME THAT YOU'LL COME SAFELY WITH NARUTO! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE YOU DOING, DYING LIKE THIS!?"

Tsunade's fist hit the operating table, making a loud impact. Nevertheless, it wasn't her usual punch as she had exhausted her chakra and she can't focus enough to release her stored up ones. The impact, though loud, was harmless.

"… Wake up… please…" she pleaded weakly.

She had her head facing down to Jiraiya's right hand. When a teardrop fell from her blood-stained cheeks and landed on Jiraiya's palm, it suddenly twitched. Tsunade thought she saw things but when a hand reached her head, Tsunade's eyes shot up wide. She looked up to see that Jiraiya's left hand was stroking her blonde hair.

"… Yo― Tsunade…" a weak voice greeted nearby. Hopeful, she looked toward the source of said voice and found that Jiraiya was awake. Without further ado, she took Jiraiya's left hand and held them between her hands as she moved closer to her injured teammate until their heads were only inches apart.

"Y-you!" she exclaimed with a tinge of happiness as her hope has just been answered. Jiraiya gave her a smile.

"Jiraiya, what happened!? How in the world did you get _these..._ wounds?" Tsunade asked with urgency. Jiraiya just looked at her with very tired eyes and kept his smile.

"… Heh… does it matter? That― that guy's as sneaky as ever I doubt… I doubt he's going to stop anytime soon…" Jiraiya said slowly as he winced every now and then. When Jiraiya coughed up some blood at the end, Tsunade intensified her grip as she frowned, "Jiraiya!"

Coughing more blood, Jiraiya finally settled down for a bit and panted heavily as he tried to maintain his composure, "l-listen, Tsunade… I-I used that stupid kinjutsu…"

"Huh? What?"

"I used… Jigoku Gama Sennin no Jutsu…" Jiraiya finished and Tsunade's eye widened instantaneously. She knew what that implied.

"N-no, you didn't― you…" Tsunade shook her head in disbelief but when she saw Jiraiya saying nothing, she broke into tears again, "― t-that means… you…"

Jiraiya smirked painfully and replied, "y-yeah, once you― cough― you got hit, the jutsu backfires at you… a useless technique befitting optimistic fools… I-I didn't know what I was t-thinking back then― when I created this jutsu… Heh, I guess it's just the drawback of misusing that oil…"

"N-no, it can't be! T-then these wounds…" Tsunade looked down again at a loss.

"Yeah, it can not be healed for a full seven days and nights­― looking at the severity of my wounds… I guess I― I only have a few hours left, huh?"

"Why!? Why did you have to use it again!? Who was it that forced you to use this jutsu!?" Tsunade asked in urgency again, trying to avoid the subject of death.

"T-Tsunade, will you― will you listen to my last wishes?" Jiraiya asked with a pleading look in his eyes.

Upon hearing Jiraiya's weak plea, Tsunade shuddered and stuttered in fear, "w-what are you saying? You― you're not going to die! I can― I can heal those wounds, I… you― you'll be just fine…"

"Hn, you know it's impossible… I won't make it in time…" Jiraiya said.

"Jiraiya!"

"Tsunade, please…" Jiraiya's urging tone finally caught Tsunade's attention. Sensing his plea, she could do naught but to listen carefully.

"N-Naruto he― he's still in Suna… b-bring him back as― as soon as you can… b-before Akatsuki… make their move…" Jiraiya began slowly as he struggled to maintain his consciousness. Tsunade listened intently.

"A-also… be aware of― of that man…" Jiraiya coughed up more blood and Tsunade instinctively pressed on even tighter on his hand and tried to give Jiraiya more breathing space.

"… That man…" Jiraiya said again after he seemed to settle down again. Tsunade repeated, "That man?"

"Danzou"

Tsunade looked from the corner of her eyes and gave him a comforting smile, "… I know…"

Feeling satisfied, Jiraiya continued, "t-then, last…"

Tsunade flinched at those words but still listened as intently as she could, "yes?"

Jiraiya seemed to think for a bit as he stayed silent but not for long, "… I'm… I'm sorry― for having to leave you as well…"

Taken by surprise, Tsunade finally let the tears she'd held inside burst out, "… don't say that…"

Jiraiya smiled wryly, "I-I hope that― my death won't bring you down…"

"I said don't say that…" Tsunade repeated with more intonation. She did not want to hear those words from her closed ones.

The two suddenly went silent. Tsunade had her forehead resting on Jiraiya's right shoulder while Jiraiya who was looking upward suddenly forced a grin and got his busty teammate's attention back to him.

"H-hey, Tsunade…"

Tsunade looked up slightly until she could see his eyes, "what is it?"

Jiraiya peeked from the corner of his eyes until they're eyes locked at each other and then said, "… d-do you want to― say something to Nawaki and Dan? I can pass along the message you know?" Jiraiya grinned happily.

Tsunade gave her a look and then wiped her tears, "… jerk…"

Tsunade's assistants were standing in the back, knowing that there won't be any more hope for Jiraiya. Glancing at each other, the two silently agreed to leave the two Sannin by themselves until Jiraiya's last breath. Tsunade didn't really take much attention to her two assistants since a while ago as she and Jiraiya began to reminisce about their past.

Then the door behind them closed silently, leaving them untouched to the world outside.

* * *

Back in the Hokage tower, Shizune was taking care of Tsunade's workload while she's away operating Jiraiya. As she shifted through some documents, she too, couldn't shake away her worries for the one of the legendary Sannin. While she dazed away, a knock could be heard from the window behind her seat. Shizune, slightly taken by surprise, quickly turned around to see who it was, she saw a dog wearing sunglasses by the window. She quickly recognized the dog as one of Kakashi's summons and without further ado, let him in. The dog looked around the office for a bit and then turned to see Shizune once again, "hey lady, where's the Hokage at?"

"Tsunade-sama? She's in the hospital but― what is it? Did something happen to Kakashi?" Shizune asked.

"Mm, yeah well, not much, maybe, I dunno…" the dog answered nonchalantly, earning a twitch from Shizune, "mm, since you're always by her side, I guess I can tell you― the thing is, he told me to tell Godaime to strengthen the defenses around the Kage mountains… said some bloke named Sasuke might infiltrate the village from there or something…" he finished casually as he scratched his head with his paw.

Shizune however, was taken by that name, "Sasuke? As in Uchiha Sasuke!?"

"Yeah, that's the name, I knew there was something wrong with his name, I always thought it's spelled Uchiwa, hahaha" the dog joked casually.

"He's going to…!? But, what for?" Shizune, clearly ignoring the dog thought aloud but before she could find an answer, another knock snapped her from her thoughts. It was Pakkun.

Shizune turned around to see the pug jumping from the window to the desk, "Pakkun!"

"Oh, hey, lil' lady, mind telling me where the Hokage is? I can't smell her scent for some reason and― hm? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Kakashi sent me to see the Hokage― weren't you right beside me when he ordered me to?" the other dog replied, Pakkun pondered with an arched brow then he smacked his paw, "oh yeah, you're right― sorry, it must be my age, hahaha" the other dog just rolled his eyes.

"Putting that aside, Pakkun, what's the matter? Is something wrong? Why would Kakashi send two of his nin-dogs back to Konoha?" Shizune averted his attention back to her.

Sensing her urgency, Pakkun stared at his counterpart who shrugged and then replied, "Well the thing is, missy― he told me to tell Hokage-sama that we have an Akatsuki spy in the village…"

Upon hearing the news, Shizune became even more shocked to hear that Konoha, of all places, have an Akatsuki spy, "Eh!? But how!? And what about Sasuke? What's happening with Kakashi anyway!?"

Pakkun arched an eyebrow as he stared at Shizune who's been holding him in her hands, "what, he hasn't told you yet?" he asked as he pointed to the other dog with his paw.

Said dog with sunglasses didn't seem to care as he continued to scratch the back of his ear with his back paw. Pakkun sighed and continued, "Mm, the thing is missy― he's currently dealing those Uchihas right now near the border to the west, so he's kind of busy…"

Shizune was officially at a loss of words, she would still be if Pakkun didn't snap her back into reality, "Hey young miss, where's the Hokage anway? I'm still bothered with how I can't quite smell her but instead I smell a surprisingly strong scent of blood mixed with that nasty oil from Myobokuzan from the hospital…"

"T-Tsunade-sama…" she started but once again she had to be interrupted as somebody knocked on the door. Composing herself, Shizune reached for the door to let whoever was outside to come in. The next seconds, the room was filled with two nin-dogs, three Tokubetsu ANBU, an unconscious pink haired girl, and a timid girl with silver eyes.

"We're back, Shizune-san," said one of the Tokubetsu ANBU who was none other than Ibiki.

"Ah, welcome back Ibiki-san, good work, everyone…" Shizune replied as she closed the door behind them.

Not wasting any time, Ibiki asked Shizune where the Hokage is. Shizune looked saddened once more as she prepared to fully explain this time to all the people inside the room.

"Tsunade-sama is― at the hospital right now… tending to Jiraiya-sama…" she finally said nervously.

"Jiraiya-sama!?" Ibiki asked back, "Did something happen to him?"

Everyone in the room was shocked to some extent, especially the Pakkun and Ibiki. Shizune told them how grave the wounds were and how long she's been gone. Nobody spoke for the moment as Hinata just squirmed around, unsure of what to do.

"… Then, what should we do? If it's as serious as you just said, it is highly probable that it's going to be one long night for her and that means we can't interfere or it could mean Jiraiya-sama's life…" Ibiki said as he looked at Shizune behind his mask.

Shizune nodded and then just remembered about the nin-dogs, "Ibiki-san! Do you think you can do something for me? I just received word from Pakkun that it seems that there is an Akatsuki spy within the village! Can your unit immediately go find him?"

Ibiki was even more shocked, "what!? An Akatsuki spy in Konoha!?"

"Yes, we don't, unfortunately, know anything about this spy, no face, no name, nothing, so it could be a little tricky to find him or her, but if we don't do something soon, it would be terrible!" Shizune said.

"Very well, we have already successfully completed our initial mission after all, and you Shizune-san, are pretty much the substitute Hokage, are you not? Just give us the order and we'll do it…" Ibiki said.

Shizune nodded, "alright, then first, you can put Sakura in the next room, there's a bed in there, then have your entire unit to find this Akatsuki spy, it is highly probable that he is an official that works inside the tower. Search every corner of the tower and do not let a single stone unturned!"

Ibiki saluted Shizune as did his two subordinate and they went outside the room. After they left, Shizune looked at Hinata who wore a very nervous expression on her face, "Hinata-san…"

"Y-yes!?"

"If you could, could you please look after Sakura in the next room? I have to at least notify Tsunade-sama and I doubt anyone but me could directly enter the operation room while she's operating…" Shizune asked gently.

Hinata nodded timidly and replied, "O-of course, Shizune-san…"

Shizune smiled and then faced the nin-dogs, "alright, you guys go back to Kakashi and tell him that we have received the message. Tell him to not be reckless. Even though Itachi is ranked as an S-class criminal, but he is also ranked as not one to be touched. Tell him to avoid unnecessary fights― what is he doing there anyway? I don't recall him having a mission for tonight…"

Pakkun looked up and replied, "Ah, he told me that he was on his way to Sunagakure to check up on Naruto since he's there and then out of nowhere near the border, Sasuke suddenly appeared with three other people, probably his companions and then came Itachi… it's crazy, I tell you…"

Shizune stayed quiet as she analyzed what Pakkun just said, then she came into a realization, "wait, Pakkun, did he come by himself? Itachi that is…"

"Huh? Oh I think he is― why?" Pakkun asked back.

"This is weird, from what we know, Akatsuki always goes in pair. If Itachi suddenly appeared all by himself, then where is his partner? What was he doing there? Also, isn't it weird to have both Sasuke and Itachi appearing near the border where Kakashi is heading?" Shizune thought aloud.

"Mm, something is definitely strange… I guess I'll just go back to Kakashi now and see if I can get more information…" Pakkun said as he headed toward the window, followed by his counterpart.

Shizune nodded and as she watched Pakkun and the other dog running as fast as they could, she turned around to see that Hinata was looking at her with worry.

Shizune formed a smile and walked toward the door, "don't worry, it will be alright…"

Hinata nodded timidly and as Shizune stepped outside the door, she followed. Once outside, they went their separate ways. Shizune went to the right while Hinata went to the left and entered the room next to the Hokage's office.

Once inside, Hinata saw her pink haired friend lying harmlessly on the soft bed. Hinata took a closer look and noticed that she became even paler than when she last saw her. She knew what she did to some extent but she didn't know what she did in detail. She wished Sakura would wake up and tell her what truly happened that day but the pink haired fair lady would not wake up, not yet.

Hinata brought a chair closer to the bed for her to sit down and pulled a blanket to cover Sakura. When she was about to sit down, she could hear Sakura murmuring something.

"Sakura-san? Sakura-san, are you awake?" Hinata called but no reaction. When she heard that Sakura still murmured something, she thought that Sakura must be sleep talking.

"… _Naru… to… chima… ru… Sasu… kun…"_ Sakura muttered in her sleep, her face flinched as if she was having a nightmare.

Time slowly but surely stopped for it was the night before the dream. Sakura's consciousness slowly descended to that day, when they met with Sasuke again after two and a half years. Slowly but surely, her blurry surrounding began to stir around, returning to that day, that fateful day of misfortune, the fateful day of the snake's trickery.


	10. Chapter 10: The Reality of A Dream

_**A/N**_: a little A/N as usual before beginning. Now I know that has set a rule prohibiting the use of A/N inside a story, thus this will probably be the last time I'd do it but for now, it's a must so, sorry but screw your rules for this one. I owe my readers too much to be concerned with a rule and not tell them what's been happening. So to make a long story short, I was hit by a massive writer block as well as a prehistoric illness called laziness and not to mention other reasons which mostly revolve around 'being busy with life', so I was in a hiatus for quite some time (last time I check, I added chapter 9 in february, that means I've been neglecting my duty as a writer for about 4-5 months more or less, wow, my bad, really, sorry). But now, allow me to redeem myself by presenting you this new chapter freshly cooked from the oven. Now I must admit that I've had the plot all worked out and have begun writing this chapter not too long after chapter 9 but due to reasons that I've mentioned up above (which I'm not proud of, mind you), I haven't been able to finish up 'on time'. Not only that but I must admit that the way I've written this chapter isn't too much to my liking as I feel that there's something off but at least I can still say that I like it to some extent so I'm very sorry if it's the same for you guys. If there's anything that displease you, please do tell me about it and I'll try to rewrite it (but I can't promise anything). Another thing I must apologize for is the length of this chapter which is shorter than the previous chapter, I have to somewhat rush the explanation so there isn't much actions going on which is also due to the point of view of this chapter because you see, this chapter is a bit different from previous chapters as **it's read from the pov of Sakura** as it takes place in her mind or something, so yeah. All in all, I believe that must be everything, I'll try to continue on updating more often and with a better quality but for now I hope you can enjoy it even with all its weaknesses. Thank you.

* * *

_**Chapter X - the Reality of a Dream: Freeze the Pendulum**_

"… _It's dark. Why is it so dark? Why does it feel like everything's passing me by? Or is it that I'm passing them by? Why can't I move my body? Where am I? What happened? Why can't I say anything? Why doesn't my voice coming out? Why is it so dark?_

"_Ah wait, I can feel something. I can start to feel something. What is it? Is this… light? No, this is… me? Yamato-sensei? Sai?_

"… _Naruto…?_

"_What is this? No, wait… this is… that day?_

"…_This… is this… my memory?"_

I can feel myself facing my own memories like watching a slide show. The space around me is pitch black with only one long line of what seems like a line of moving pictures, rolling endlessly from one end to another. I am standing in front of a particular scene, the scene of that faithful day.

In that scene, there are six people rounded inside an oval room. They're Tsunade-shishou, Shizune-san, Yamato-sensei, Sai, me, and Naruto. I, Yamato-sensei, Sai, and Naruto are facing Tsunade-shishou and Shizune-san. It's the day of the briefing.

"We have received a new Intel," Tsunade-shishou said, opening the conversation.

"Ah? What is it, baa-chan?" Naruto said rudely as usual and I can see myself punching him for being impolite yet Tsunade-shishou only gave him a glare as usual.

"It's about the whereabouts of Orochimaru and that Uchiha boy, Sasuke…" she continued, earning my and Naruto's attention the most.

"What! Sasuke!? You've found where they are, baa-chan!?"

"… Sasuke-kun…" I see myself muttering his name although Yamato-sensei and Sai didn't seem to react too much about it.

"Yes, its location has been confirmed by trusted sources," Tsunade replied and looked more seriously before continuing, "before I tell you further― let me introduce you to each other. Naruto, Sakura, these are Yamato and Sai. They will be your teammates in the upcoming mission I'm about to give you…"

I see myself and Naruto looking at them and I lowered my head politely but Naruto just bobbed his head. He really needs to learn manners, that idiot.

"Yamato-san will replace Kakashi-san who is currently injured and has to stay at the hospital for a couple of days while Sai-kun here, will be replacing Sasuke-kun's place for a while, therefore this team is a temporary revival of team 7," Shizune-san explained.

"What!? Well I can understand for Kakashi-sensei but, him? Why should we have him in our team? Sasuke's place isn't replaceable!"

"Naruto!" I punched him on the head again, "I'm very sorry about this, he's never learned manners. How do you do, Yamato-sensei, Sai-san?"

I said that? Oh, I guess I did…

"Ah, it's alright, based from what I heard from Kakashi-sempai, Naruto-kun here is quite the lively one, a rare kind of a shinobi if I might add," Yamato said heartily.

"How do you do? I'm Sai," replied Sai as he extended his hand forward and gave a smile that looked odd which I still think so until now.

Naruto grunted in response but before anybody could do anything further, Tsunade-shishou spoke up again, "_ahem_, I'm sure you all can do the introduction later all you want, but now, let me brief you on your mission…"

Everyone returned their attention to her then she gestured Shizune-san to take over which she did, "hai, Tsunade-sama"

Shizune-san took a scroll from inside her sleeves and read it aloud, "― _ano_, based from our Intel, we have located and confirmed Orochimaru and Uchiha Sasuke's location near the border between Wind and Earth. It is an underground hideout under a small hill. It is highly probable that its structure will be a labyrinth-type just as his other underground lairs which we have acquired in the past few months. It is confirmed that Orochimaru and Uchiha Sasuke have been staying there for the past few weeks and it is unlikely that they will leave anytime soon. The objective of this mission is to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke and to bring him back to Konoha. You are to depart tomorrow morning. That is all…"

"Any question?" Tsunade-shishou asked as Shizune-san rolled the scroll back.

Yamato-sensei raised his hand, "what of the physical conditions of the objective?"

"Dead or alive, preferably alive," Tsunade replied swiftly.

I notice that Naruto flinched at Yamato's question and even more at Tsunade's answer but after hearing the whole sentence, he softened up. I can understand though, we both known that it would be almost impossible to bring Sasuke-kun back unharmed. He is very strong after all.

"Tsunade-sama, what of Sasuke-kun's exact position inside the hideout?" I asked this time.

Tsunade sighed, "Unfortunately, we do not know. Our Intel could only penetrate as far as the front entrance and have no idea whatsoever of the inside"

My memory self frowned and then Sai raised his hand, "what of threats during search?"

At this, Tsunade-shishou opened her eyes and stared at the four people before her, "should any of you encounter a threat during search, eliminate the threat and retreat. It would be highly advisable and recommendable to avoid any fights and especially if you were to encounter Orochimaru in person. If you do, notify the rest if you are separated and retreat, do NOT fight that man, do I make myself clear?"

As I watch, I see that Naruto stayed quiet the whole time. He was probably thinking about Sasuke-kun, I know I did. But now that I see it from a different angle, it seems that he thinks nothing but Sasuke-kun, he doesn't seem too focused on the briefing but maybe it's just my imagination.

"… _It is that day… no, it's three days before that day, when I first met with Yamato-sensei and Sai,_

"_I could feel a slight feeling of warmth when seeing that frame. Everything was still normal back then. Me, Tsunade-shishou, Shizune-san… Naruto…"_

When I see these memories of back then, I know that it isn't that long ago but it feels like eternity for some reason. I wish I could just stay here and watch more but then everything seems to move. I don't know if it's me or my memories or maybe us both but we are moving again. I can still feel the vast darkness surrounding me, it's cold and sorrowful but I can't do a single thing, I can only let myself be guided by some unknown force. Then as I feel a shiver running down my spine, I notice that we have stopped. I turn around and see a different frame, a different memory. This time I can see that we are near a small hill, the hideout…

"_This is…"_

In the frame, team 7 was now observing a rather normal small hill from the forest. After a few moments, we then retreated deeper inside the forest and gathered around.

"Alright, it seems like the surrounding of the outer part of the hideout isn't as protected as the Intel mentioned, so we can sneak easily to that hill― I will make an entrance for all of us but now I would like to separate the team into a two-man cell. Naruto, you'll go with Sai and…"

Before Yamato-sensei could finish his sentence, Naruto cut him off with an angry whisper, "what!? Why do I have to go with this creep!?"

"Naruto…" Yamato-sensei whispered threateningly, earning Naruto's silence and he continued, "― as I was saying, Naruto will go with Sai and Sakura you'll go with me. I would like all of you to swallow this please, it would facilitate our communication once we're inside― I doubt the radio will be useful once we're inside. They could have placed a scrambler device…"

Yamato-sensei showed four seed-like matter and we all took one each and swallowed soon after. Right after we swallowed the seed, we all felt something in our head all at once a few seconds later. I still feel a little bit weird about Yamato-sensei's method.

"Did you get it?" he asked.

"What was that? I felt something telling me to turn left" Naruto commented. I can see myself showing an interested expression while Sai stayed indifferent.

"Yes, this seed allows me to communicate with you although I can't use it to transmit words but I can transmit signals through a strong will. You guys can do it as well, just think of something simple and think it strongly. For example if you think of retreating, your thoughts will transmit to the other seeds and we'll know it immediately, do you understand?"

"So, this is like transmitting your emotions, is it?" my memory self asked and Yamato smiled, "exactly, glad you catch up"

Naruto looked mildly confused and Sai stayed indifferent. When I see myself groan and tried to explain to Naruto, I chuckle.

"_Why did I ever try to explain it to him in the first place? It's not like he'll understand just like that. What was I thinking?"_

Giving up, my memory self sighed in exasperation and Yamato-sensei concluded the briefing. After making one last check for our equipments, Yamato-sensei made a wood bunshin and have that clone make a safe passage toward the hill. Once the clone reached it, he waved his hand signaling the other that it's safe to move. When we all reached the hill, Yamato told his clone to stand guard and he proceeded to make a passageway into the lair.

While penetrating the hill further inside, Yamato-sensei explained along the way to Naruto how there are always a weak link in every surface and that's how they're going to get in. Once inside, we got into an empty corridor with weird-looking walls, floor, and ceilings. Yamato-sensei told the team to start searching as Naruto and Sai went to the right while I and he went to the left.

Yamato-sensei and I checked every room as stealthily as possible although I would sometime glance over my shoulder for a few moments.

"_That's right, I would always check behind my back. When Yamato-sensei asked me what is wrong, I said I was just double-checking but― to be honest, I was worried about Naruto. My mind was always set toward Sasuke-kun but somehow I couldn't get Naruto out of my head as well"_

As I watch the frame moving, showing an image of me and Yamato-sensei searching through empty room after empty rooms, I slowly come into a realization that this dimension where I'm in seems to get colder and colder. I can feel my surrounding coming in closer and closer although it doesn't seem like it but I can tell from the shiver running down my spine, the coldness in my breath, and this feeling of fear that's building up inside. I just realize that my surrounding is slowly eating me. I feel like I have to fight it off but I can't even move my body. Despite every fiber of my subconscsious body screaming at me to find my way out of this darkness, my instinct and everything else tell me that I have to watch this till the end, and then it's steadily coming, the scariest part of it all― the moment I sold my soul to the devil…

Yamato-sensei suddenly stopped in his track and the me in my memory followed suit.

"What is it, Yamato-sensei!?"

"Stay behind me, Sakura―" Yamato whispered softly so that only I could hear, "― show yourself…"

A figure slowly made his appearance from behind the shadows, a smirk painted his pale face.

"You!" my memory self yelled.

"… Yakushi Kabuto…" Yamato said almost in a murmur.

Kabuto stood there silently, examining the intruders calmly. After a brief observation, he smirked again and addressed us casually as if we were his long-awaited guests.

"My, my, what do we have here? You two could have at least notified us of your presence so that we could give you a proper welcome…"

I see my self gritting my teeth, threatening to attack at any moment but Yamato-sensei's arm prevented me from doing so.

"No, we wouldn't like to bother you so instead of having to trouble you with your so-called welcome, we'd prefer going incognito, you see?" he replied coolly.

"Hn, you do have a point there, although I must say that it is rude to barge into someone's house uninvited no matter the situation, you know?" Kabuto said tauntingly.

Yamato-sensei just smirked, "well I apologize but being rude as in barging uninvited into someone else's dump is part of my job description, haven't you heard about shinobi?"

Kabuto's smirk faded as quickly as it appeared. His eyes didn't show their taunting look anymore as it was soon replaced by bloodlust. Kabuto stared silently again at us and then spoke up again without changing his tone.

"… Seeing how that pink-haired girl is here then I assume you're after Sasuke-kun, am I right?"

I can remember myself twitching and thought, _'they know!?'_

"So what if we are?" Yamato-sensei replied as coolly as ever.

Kabuto lowered his head and positioned his glasses before looking up, "such impudence, how long does it takes to have that brain of yours _learn_ that Sasuke-kun ran on his own will? He won't ever return to Konoha now that Orochimaru-sama has given him what he desires― power…"

We stayed silent for a bit, I seemed to look uneasy while Yamato-sensei seemed to be thinking about something until he snickered, "hn, we never said we'd persuade him to come back with us, for all we know we could just be forceful and believe me, that's what we are here to do"

Kabuto looked murderous as he glared at Yamato, "― and you think I'll let you do whatever you want?"

Yamato-sensei noticed that Kabuto has started releasing his medical chakra as both his hands began to glow light green, illuminating the dimly lit corridor, "I was hoping you would, I guess it really was a long shot…"

"Die!"

Kabuto dived and began attacking the intruders. We both readied ourselves. It didn't take the two of us more than ten seconds to know what we both should do for the next few seconds.

As Yamato-sensei blocked Kabuto's attack, I was already set to deliver the counter with a mega-punch. Unfortunately that disgusting man noticed as he quickly pulled back far from the reach of my fist but Yamato-sensei had already anticipated this and quickly held both hands to form the Mokuton hand seal and as if on cue, wooden blocks appeared on Yamato-sensei's shoulders and gave chase to Kabuto.

Sensing the wooden blocks coming in closer with each moment, he took out a kunai and added an explosive tag at its handle then threw it to our direction. Having noticed the explosive note on the kunai, Yamato-sensei stopped his move and with the me in my memory, jumped back to escape the explosion that rocked the compound and must have notified its residence of our presence.

Smokes were everywhere. We had survived the blast although we were a little bit separated in the thick smoke. After looking around in vain, I see myself noticing something. It must be Yamato-sensei's seed. Not too long afterward, his clone stepped into my field of vision. I knew right away that it was a clone because half his face was still made of wood. Then as I remembered, I was reunited with Yamato-sensei.

"Are you alright?" he asked in a soft murmur.

"Yeah, what's with this thick smoke? It takes longer to dissipate than usual? It's just a normal explosive tag, isn't it?"

It seems that my questions made him realize something was wrong and I was right, "It couldn't be…"

Then it hit him.

"It's poison gas! That bastard must have released it right after he threw that explosive tag! Sakura, let's get out of here!"

We then quickly ran on the direction where we came from to avoid the thick white smoke that slowly began to turn purple. Yamato-sensei told me to cover my mouth and hold my breath until we were out of the smoke screen while he did the same.

By the moment we got out, the smoke was still thick it even covered the entire corridor. I can see myself coughing up a bit and trying to catch my breath while Yamato-sensei stood guard at the silent purple smoke, looking half-expecting that something might come out from it.

"… This is bad," I heard him speak, "with that explosive tag earlier, he must've notified the entire compound― it's regrettable but we have to get out of here, the mission's compromised…"

I see that I opened my mouth but soon closed it again, I must've wanted to say something but I knew that it was over. After all, I had to prioritize my mission's duties before my feelings and emotions.

"_But is that really what I've been doing up till now?"_

I see myself standing up and after making sure that I'm alright, we quickly ran to where we came from and never look back.

All the while, Yamato-sensei kept sending some sort of an emotion command to run away for Naruto and Sai while sending a clone or two to look for them too, just for safety. I know that because I also felt it that time. What worried him was not that Naruto and Sai would meet an enemy on the way but rather if Naruto decided to go against his order and continued to search for Sasuke-kun. At some point, I know I must have felt the same.

While on the run, Yamato-sensei had made a clone in advance to act as sentry and check if their path was clear and safe. We needed to get away with as little fight as possible. We had to take detours and stop every now and then until our path was clear from incoming guards.

"Damn― if this keeps up, we're going to have to find another way out…" Yamato-sensei said as we stopped at a corner.

"But Yamato-taichou, what about Naruto and Sai? Where are they?"

"I don't know, I've told them to get out of here but so far the only reaction I've received is that they are running away, I can't tell where they are or what they are doing now…"

"But what if they go to where we came in only to find that place filled with Oto nin?"

"Let's just hope that they aren't going to do so, at least having Sai around will decrease that possibility"

"Who is he exactly? Sai that is…"

"I don't know but he was recommended by one of the elders, Danzou-sama, so that would at least show that he's reliable― let's go, the way is clear"

I nodded and once again followed the wood element user while checking the rear as well for any sudden attacks. Once we almost ran into an enemy patrol but luck was with us. When we were about to turn at an intersection, a group of Oto nins were heading our way and to make matters worse, another group of Oto nin was coming up from behind. We were ready to fight at any moment, yet before we clashed, the two Oto groups made a sudden turn midway. Apparently they were called in for another event that took place somewhere in the hideout. Releasing a sigh of relief, we went ahead once again, heading toward the hole where we came in. But then a realization comes into my mind.

"_This… oh no, this is that time… when I met him…"_

We were getting closer toward the exit when suddenly a lone figure stood in our way. He had long black hair, a pale skin, and radiated a very ominous and black aura around him, so black it felt evil. Sensing the dangers heading our way, Yamato-sensei stopped, followed by me.

We were silent at first, observing the figure that stood silently in front of them, a trickle of sweat crawled on our cheek. That was until I opened my mouth, "that man… it can't be…"

"Talk about bad luck…" Yamato-sensei clicked his tongue as he stood on guard by brandishing a kunai.

The ominous figure looked up, a malevolence smile greeted, "now, now― you're not going to leave without at least meet with the house's owner, are you?"

"Heh, it would seem that we are since we'd hate to disturb you"

Orochimaru looked at Yamato-sensei and noticed something from seeing his face, "have I seen you before?"

"… Maybe in one of your test tubes, does that ring any bell?" Yamato replied but with a more serious tone.

As if being hit by a realization, Orochimaru smirked wickedly, "yes, of course― how could I forget?"

I had a confused look as I watched the conversation between the two men silently, "sensei? What is…?"

"You were one of my long-abandoned experimental lab rats, weren't you? The one with the First's DNA" Orochimaru said with a snicker on his face.

I was totally put off guard. That time I was completely surprised and I couldn't believe my ears, even now I still feel the same. Yet, that's the fact, that's the reality. I stopped for a bit.

"_Reality?"_

When I thought about the word 'reality' in my subconscious form, everything seems to freeze, to stop in their track. There's something about that word that is very important. I can't quite place it yet but once again my instinct tells me to keep on watching till the end. By now I really am starting to think that it's really necessary for me to watch this till the end, to find an answer, to find the truth, to find… reality.

And so I continue to watch.

"I thought you'd be dead already but I guess my experiment was successful in the end― I think I should reopen this as soon as I can then, it would certainly be a great asset for me to have an entire army of mokuton user…" Orochimaru said, laughing softly at the end.

Even though I can't see my own subconscious form but I'm sure I have the same expression as my own self in the memory, I'm sure we both have the same expression of disgust right now.

"Well enough reminiscing, what business do you have here? Don't tell me it's about Sasuke-kun again?"

"I'm afraid it is"

Orochimaru rolled his eyes and snickered, "I see that even with me gone, Konoha never learns, it's a pity but that's Konoha's fate and stupidity, in a way it's a good thing I've defected"

"Konoha is more than that! You don't know what you're talking about!"

I see myself screaming at him. Even now it gives me warmth in my chest for being brave.

"And what do you know about Konoha, little girl? Do you have any idea of all its doings ever since its founding?"

"Uh…"

"I thought so, well enough talking. I'll be taking you in and kill the other rats"

Orochimaru raised his hand to form a single hand seal and our surrounding suddenly turned into a pit of snakes.

"Genjutsu!?"

"Sakura!"

My memory self and Yamato-sensei retaliated quickly by forming a hand seal and we both shouted, "Kai!"

"Kukuku, it's useless, there is no way out from this genjutsu"

He was right. Even with 'kai' we couldn't break off the illusion. The snakes were slithering around us, ready to strike at anytime but stayed in their threatening position to play with their soon-to-be-victims.

"If you can't dispel an illusion by yourself, then there's only one way left" Yamato-sensei said.

My memory self noticed what he meant as I see myself getting ready in a punching position. After I felt enough power within me, I didn't waste any time as I punched the floor beneath me, breaking the entire floor along the way.

"Guh, this…!" Orochimaru said and his illusion broke off on its own.

The entire floor crumbled and we landed on the floor beneath it. We stared at each other carefully, not leaving any opening for the opponent to strike.

While watching this, I notice something odd. For some reason, I feel that Orochimaru stared at me more than he looked at Yamato-sensei. I soon know the answer though after I feel a sharp pain in my chest just by seeing him smirk. I can feel my subconscious self feeling the fear, sweating cold sweats, trembling. Something that seems to be in my head for quite some time but I never remember is slowly resurfacing, as if it's a long lost memory that returns after a seal has been broken.

"_This… what is this? Why do I…?_

"_What is this… foreboding sensation? This… incoming memory?_

"… _It hurts…"_

As the sharp pain in my chest keeps hurting, I can feel myself falling down on my knees and having one hand grabbing my head while the other my chest. It feels like it's about to explode with the incoming of fuzzy visions in my head, blurry visions that are slowly becoming clearer and clearer with every thrust of pain in my chest. Trying to deal with it, I force myself to open my eyes and ignore the pain in my head and chest and to continue watching my memory.

I notice that my memory self didn't react too much about his smirk and if I think about it, it must be normal since I haven't sold my soul yet. Then I remember that it really was when the situation became more complicated with the arrival of that filthy man, Kabuto.

"My apologies for not being able to clear this mess beforehand, Orochimaru-sama"

Yamato-sensei and I became stiff by the sudden voice coming from nowhere until our eyes became accustomed to where its body was. Kabuto appeared from the shadows right behind Orochimaru who didn't seem to mind.

"It's fine, Kabuto. Thanks to your carelessness, I found an interesting idea"

"My lord?"

"Take care of that experimental lab rat, will you? I have something to do with that little girl"

"Understood, Orochimaru-sama"

My heart beats with a hurting sting every time Orochimaru talked and even more when he looked at me, approaching me, with that evil smirk and those snake-like eyes of his. My vision slowly becomes a blur but I can still see very clearly, perhaps it's just the pain in my chest and head that causes my eyes to tire.

"Sakura, don't separate from me, stay close" I hear Yamato-sensei whispering to my memory self.

Before I could even respond, Kabuto had thrown a kunai enveloped with an explosive tag right in the space between me and Yamato-sensei, separating us even further away. I coughed as the dust filled the space around me and afar I could see sparks and the sounds of metals clashing. Yamato-sensei and Kabuto must be fighting over there. I stood up and was about to go where Yamato-sensei was to help him but when I wanted to move my feet, they got stuck. I felt a tremendous pressure coming up from my side which caused my body to not respond.

"Now, now― you're not going anywhere, little girl"

"… Orochimaru…"

"Hmm― pink hair, emerald green eyes, and a monstrous strength― Haruno Sakura"

"…"

I see Orochimaru approaching my frozen memory self slowly as if a snake slithering stealthily to its prey.

"Do you wish to see Sasuke-kun?"

"… I wish to bring him back with us to Konoha…!"

"Kuku, but that's never going to happen, now is it? I'm sure he must've already told you his priority in life, has he not?"

My memory self frowned and I'm sure we share the same expression at the moment, the expression of sorrow.

"That has nothing to do with this― Sasuke-kun, he… he can always achieve his goal even by staying in Konoha!"

"Then why didn't he? Why would he defect from Konoha?"

"That's because of you! You've corrupted his mind!"

"I did no such thing― I only invited him to come to me should he desire power. In no way did I ever corrupt his mind"

"You bastard!"

"Call me whatever you want, little girl― but let me ask you a question"

"…?"

"Are you willing to do anything for Sasuke-kun?"

Orochimaru asked with a wide evil-looking smirk. I knew that was the moment when my resolve crumbled in pieces.

"…!"

"Well?"

"Anything!"

My memory self was glaring toward the pale man. He grinned.

"Really? Let's say Sasuke-kun needs your help and that after he's accomplished his goal, you both are free to do whatever you wish― would you be able to abandon your teammates just for his sake?"

"That's…!"

"Hm?"

"… That's another matter"

"Silly girl, of course it isn't― you are a shinobi too, and we always have to choose so, which will you choose? Duty or personal feelings?"

"…"

"… I see you can't decide― I suppose this is a waste of time after all…"

Orochimaru turned around and was about to leave when I watch myself yelling at him.

"WAIT!"

Orochimaru stopped in his track and shifted his head slightly to have a glimpse of her.

"… _N-no… Don't…"_

Thump.

"… I…"

"_Don't say it…"_

Thump. Thump.

"… I…"

"_Please, don't!"_

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"I choose my personal feelings"

"_NO!"_

As I watch myself say those words, I can feel tears falling down. Orochimaru seemed to grin even wider but the angle makes it impossible to see clearly until he turns around to face me once again.

"Are you sure?"

I see myself nod.

"Very well, I'll let you meet him then, right now"

"What?"

"In truth, during the last few years of training with me― I notice that the boy has lost something important within him, something that may make him even stronger not only in body but also mind. I believe you may be able to help him retrieve that long-forgotten thing"

"_No! It's a lie! You mustn't listen to him!"_

"An important thing?"

"That's correct"

"What is that?"

"Companionship"

"But wasn't his body you're after? Why would you want him to get even stronger by regaining companionship?"

"I admit that I desired his body for the longest of time, I do not deny that. However, I have thought of a better idea during the training these past year. His ultimate goal is to kill his brother. Itachi is a far stronger man than Sasuke, he's even stronger than me, only because of those eyes. Sasuke-kun is a fine specimen but he's yet to mature, in terms of physical body experience, Itachi's body fits me more perfectly"

"…"

"_No, please! Snap out of it! He's just tricking you!"_

I shout at the picture, knowing full well that it's useless. However, I can't just watch silently, despite it being useless, I have to let it out somehow.

Then suddenly a loud explosion tore through the area, sending more dust flying around as well as pebbles and rocks from the ceiling, wall, and floor. As the smoke dissipated, I can slowly see many figures standing around me.

Yamato-sensei and Kabuto were facing each other in a cautious stance and not too far behind them were three new figures. They were Sai, Naruto, and Sasuke-kun.

"… Sasuke-kun…"

Before any of us could say anything, Sasuke-kun had put his hands together and without any warning another explosion occurred. This time the explosion was even bigger than before it even tore through the ceiling, making a large crater.

"Kya!"

After the impact of the explosion knocked us away, I tried to get hold of myself and then came the sunrays, flashing in through the huge hole in the ceiling. I automatically looked up, battered and bruised in some places, and there I saw at the top, Sasuke-kun.

When my memory self seems to be frozen in place, I look around the picture to see that Yamato-sensei was also looking upward while holding his arm. Sai was getting himself out of some rubble while Naruto was rubbing his head as he tried to stand.

"… Sasuke… kun…"

"… Sakura…"

"Khh…" Naruto shook his head to clear away the dizziness and then looked up with fierce eyes, "SASUKE!"

"… You're noisy as always… Naruto"

Naruto just glared at him. Then when I turn to see my frozen self again, the moment which I fear the most has come. Orochimaru, disguising himself as a small snake, slowly slithered its way to me. The me in my memory was still frozen in place but when the small snake made its way to ear shot, its whispers were my downfall.

"This is the moment where you should stay true to your words, Haruno Sakura. Do this forbidden genjutsu with all your heart and you'll be able to help Sasuke-kun in his quest. You can help everyone with only this one move"

"… I… can?"

"Yes, this is a simple technique but it requires two people to execute but it's fairly dangerous because it attacks the mind of not only the caster but also its victims, however, that's why it requires two people so that one of the two can lower the damage to the caster, you shall cast the genjutsu and I shall lower the damage done to you"

"… What… will happen… to them?"

"They'll be trapped in an illusion that you give in which they won't notice even if they use the illusion dispel technique out of a whim. It is a forbidden genjutsu that only the casters can dispel. You only need to form a few hand seals and think of the illusion to cast"

"… The illusion… to cast…?"

"Yes, I suggest an illusion where the Kyuubi brat goes berserk by unleashing the great demon fox's power and causes massive destruction which injured everyone heavily… especially Sasuke-kun"

"What? But…"

"Don't you think that he's the cause of all this?"

"Eh?"

"Because Naruto-kun has grown steadily stronger in a very fast rate ever since the Forest of Death while Sasuke-kun gotten stronger little by little in a slower pace, don't you think he felt inferior and thus decided that there's nothing in Konoha that can give him power that he desires so?"

"That's…"

"When he failed to bring Sasuke-kun back, how did you feel?"

"I…"

"You felt disappointed. You felt that he has failed you. Now I give you this chance, the chance to make him pay for his failure, will you not take it?"

"… I…"

As Orochimaru keeps on corrupting me in my memory, I can't help but to watch in pain as tears keep on flowing down my already drenched cheeks. Once in a while, I would hiccup as a sharp pain throbs excruciatingly in my chest, reminding me of my foolishness, of my sin. Then it finally came, the moment my mind became corrupted by the evil snake.

"… Yes… Naruto's… the one to blame for all this… if only… if only he never existed…"

"Yes, that's it, build up your hatred, Haruno Sakura. Before he's to be fully erased from this world, let him pay for his sins, let him suffer for his failures… he's the cause for all of this, for all of your pain"

The me in my memory slowly began to move her hands closer to form a few hand seals as Orochimaru the snake guided with inaudible whispers. I turn to see the other but just as I remember, nobody even noticed me as they all were busy with each other.

"… _No… please… stop this…"_ I say with tears flooding my vision, making my sight all blurry as I continue to plead, _"… whatever you are… please, don't make me watch this anymore… please, stop this… please…!"_

Then the preparation was done and the little snake that was on my memory self's shoulder suddenly disappeared as Orochimaru slowly emerged from the ground right beside Sasuke-kun.

"Orochimaru!"

"Kukuku, now that all the players are here, let's enjoy this show fully, _ne_?"

"What are you talking about…?"

"Now, now― you should enjoy this as well, Sasuke-kun"

Orochimaru began a sequence of hand seals and caused the others to stand on their guard, getting ready for whatever's coming. What they didn't know was that right behind them all, I was also ready in casting the forbidden genjutsu with all my hatred aimed at Naruto. Then it happened.

"Kuro Jikan no Jutsu!"

Orochimaru and I said at the same time. Then the genjutsu was cast.

From my current standpoint, nothing is happening but the effect was instantaneous. It didn't take more than a minute until they all collapsed except me, Sasuke-kun, Orochimaru, and Kabuto.

"… _I…"_ I can only say while I close my eyes, too ashamed to watch what I've done.

When I reopen my eyes, the picture is slowly getting blurry. It wasn't getting fuzzy because of my tears but because my memory self was about to get unconscious as well. It was then that I realize the truth all along. The realities I've seek.

All along, I've always knew ever since Naruto went away with Jiraiya-sama a few days ago that there's something off in my mind but I couldn't quite place it yet at the time. As time goes on, the thing that was off suddenly appear in fragments of memories, just like what happened earlier. I began to slowly see different fragments of memory which I thought wasn't mine until my disbelief turned into doubt and finally into acceptance. It was then that I realize what I've done, that I've cast a forbidden genjutsu to my own teammates. However, the only thing that I've realized at the time was still that I've performed a forbidden illusion technique, not why. Now, however, I've finally get the answer I've been searching for so long.

Orochimaru had put another genjutsu right after we performed the forbidden genjutsu, only this time his target was me. Caught off guard, I was hit by the mind-altering genjutsu and my memory was altered at once, making me unable to break off the illusion. He made me forget about us performing a forbidden genjutsu. He's erased my memory of being corrupted by him. How I could begin to remember I don't know. Perhaps the genjutsu's effect was wearing off on its own or maybe something happened to Orochimaru, I don't know.

Yet, even though the truth has finally come to me, I still feel guilt in me, a massive feeling of culpability, of shame, of sorrow. Even if he did manipulate me into doing his bidding by exposing my weakness, I still am guilty for easily succumbing to his manipulative words. I am guilty for being weak, for being too easy to manipulate, for being a foolish kunoichi. I, what's the meaning of my training for these last few years then? What's the meaning of improving my skills if my own emotions aren't improving― if my personality, my mental state, my mind is still the same childish mind as before?

What… have I been doing?

While I think of self-loathing, my surrounding's starting to swirl around and so are my memories. As I open my eyes, I see the still pictures depicting some key moments in my life after the incident. The moment when Naruto was tried for going berserk and I acted as witness as did Yamato-sensei and Sai, at that time I had completely forgotten about the truth as all I remembered and believed to be the truth was the illusion of the genjutsu, that Naruto had gone berserk and caused a massive destruction. Then the moment when Naruto got suspended as punishment which soon turned into the prohibition for him to go out of the village and to be watched by a black ops squad for a period of time. Then his every move was getting even more restricted as he was forbidden to step out of the boundaries set by the council which was no more than 5 meters from his apartment for a period of time. Then came the moment when each and every one of us became distant from him, until we never even talk much with him anymore. Until finally came the moment where the council made a decisive choice, to strip him off his shinobi status and implement his house arrest. The rest shows memories I still remember such as my confession to Tsunade-shishou, my visit to Naruto's empty apartment, Shikamaru and the boys' confrontation, and finally to the moment when I lose consciousness. With the slideshow ending, a lone tear is the only thing that embellishes my wet cheek. I can feel my entire body shaking, trembling in fear and shame. I can feel my entire body cold even though I know that it's not my physical body but rather just my consciousness.

"… _I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, everyone… I'm so very sorry, Naruto… I'm sorry_…_"_

As I repeat those words, I feel myself getting more and more lost in the abyss of my own consciousness that's eating my guilty self away. Yet, despite the feeling of total loss and the desire to disappear, I can also feel a tiny speck somewhere within myself to fight it. Somehow, I feel like it's telling me to stand up, to return, to wake up and make things right. It took me a few minutes to fully listen to it until finally I succumbed. I know I have to return, to wake up from this abyss, to make things right. I have sinned too much to runaway from it, to let myself be eaten by my guilt. It's too easy for me. It's too easy to pay for my sins, no, I have to return, to wake up. I deserve any kind of punishment but for now, I have to return.

With this new burning sensation in me, the darkness around me slowly starts to dissipate as rays of blinding white light takes its place. I had to cover my eyes as the white light takes over the darkness in a quick succession, not giving me time to react. Slowly, I feel my body to feel heavier, to feel more complete, more concrete. And so I dare myself to open my eyes and I know that I have returned as a very familiar voice called out my name.

"SAKURA-SAN!"

… At last, I've awakened from my dream and returned to reality…


End file.
